Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Chains of Fate
by AlphaBravoWriting1248
Summary: Galet has never been a peaceful city, but some crimes are too heinous to overlook. A strange Ninetales found near pools of blood. What should have been a simple open and shut case of homicide, becomes a lot more complicated when your only witness is an amnesiac. The Modern Crusaders have taken it upon themselves to solve this mystery, even if it means their lives.
1. Prologue

"W ##_e##_- ?" #_#_"I-_#_-_#_###_#_memories"

_-h_##r_a-_I##_-_-don't#_-#_#-_ happy#_#_-

#-#e _-#-m **.** #_#-_#_##_-have many#_-#_##_

**.**_###_-#_-_-##_###-_##_-_###_

"You're eyes, _**.**###_-"?eliva I mA"#_#-#_ "It's#-

#_#-what's wrong **.** ##_#_##_-#_###_#-so-

###_-#_-_#with them?" **.** #_-_#_#_-_#-#co_

#_###_-#_#"We **.** _##-#-#_-#- #_-#_-ld."#-

#_-#_#_-#_All **.**_-##_-#_#-#_-#_-#_-

#_#######-#_Have_- ##_-#_#_-are you?" **.**

###-#_-_#_-#"Life #_Our_###_- "Who **.**#_-#_-

#_#-#-doesn't **.**#-#_- Burdens"##_#_am I?"#

_-##make **.** #_#_-##_-alive?" _-#paradox."#-_

#_-sense" **.** #_-#_"Why #_-I #_-#_-walking_-

_-_-### #_#_#_am #_#_#_#-#_##a#_-#_-

_-"A y r ?" "#_#_-#_###_-#_-_#_-#"You're **.** #_-care?"#-

#_#_-r o e#_-#_"What's **.**_#-####_-#_-#_- even#-

"Should #e u a_-#_-happened **.** #_#_#_#_-#_he#_

l #_#_-#_#_-l#_-to me?" #_###_-#-_#-#_-_"Does#-

be_-##-_m'I" **.** _"Not _-silence."_-#_

alive?".deracs m'I" **.** -again."# in#_-#

#_".deracs **. ** _-##_-_-dies #_-#_-_"I was

#####want to #_anyone _-"truth#_- a coward."

"I don't #-_lose _#_else."

"My **.** "Please,

life **.** find

is **.** your

over." truth."

"He's

a monster."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"What sick fucking twist of fate would you call me?"


	2. Chapter 1: The Modern Crusaders

Ninetales' opened his eyes for the first time that day, or at least, it certainly felt like he did. Opening them into a life he never asked for, and depending on the day never wanted to have; today was one of those days. Ever since he'd awoken on a fateful day in September, he had been plagued with questions both inside and out, it seemed that he could hardly travel a few steps without a ravenous reporter approaching him, asking questions to which he had no answer.

The skies above him were gray, hearkening the heart of the month in the stone city of Galet, a light mist was cast upon the stone city.

"...Yes, that's all well and good…" Ninetales replied, backing away from his interviewer who was hell-bent on wrenching answers from him.

The interviewer closed the distance that Ninetales put between them without hesitation. "No normal pokemon would wake up near pools of blood and know nothing of it. So tell me, what do you know?" he said.

Ninetales chuckled. "Yeah, that, well…" he started, but was soon cut off by the clopping of Mudsdale signaling the arrival of the public carriage. "Bye." he said quickly, jumping on as soon as it came to a halt, his mangy hair veiling his face, "I'll give you 50 extra poke to leave now."

"Very well." the driver replied as he accepted the bribe given to him, "Right men, we're off." he announced. Ninetales' found a seat and parted his light blue fur, the Mudsdale trotting towards their destination. Like most other pokemon on board, he sat in silence, trying his best to become invisible to others.

_Why can't these pokemon just leave me alone? _ He thought as the carriage rumbled on the road of interlocking bricks below him. _I just want a simple life._

The carriage arrived at his destination and he disembarked with haste, refusing to make eye contact with anyone but the cobbled sidewalk as he weaved through the waves of pokemon. His tails dragging behind him on his way to his job. His travels were halted by an arm, peeking through his fur he saw a Banette in a torn, violet crop-top, Ninetales grunted, put his eyes back down and kept moving.

"Hey." said Banette. "I've been looking for you."

Ninetales didn't pause. "So has everyone else." he said, barely turning his head as he dodged a small group of pedestrians.

Banette began to follow him to try and stop him, but Ninetales slipped through any attempts he made. "Look, I just want to talk." said Banette, intercepting Ninetales, forcing him to cease.

Without making eye contact, Ninetales told him, "If this is about the 'pools of blood,' I don't know anything."

Banette shook his head. "You 'don't know anything?' Nothing at all." what should have been a question became a statement.

With a slight growl Ninetales looked back up at this pokemon. "No, and at this rate I'm going to be late for work." he lied, frustration weaved into his words.

"Work? Where exactly do you work." said Banette, making a slow advance on Ninetales.

Ninetales backed away. "That's not important." he said, his body tensing up.

"Trust me. It is." Banette told him, anger beginning to bubble through his calm exterior.

Ninetales remained unresponsive, watching his movements closely, and lowering to the ground, his tails pointed up as they quivered to and fro. "I'll ask you to back. Away. Now." He snarled at Banette, his eyes darting left and right. _I'm not looking for a fight. _Ninetales thought to himself. _I just need to scare him off, I'm going to be late at this rate._

Banette tensed a moment, and lunged at Ninetales, who sprung backwards, but he was a moment too slow, letting Banette grab hold of the scruff of his neck, "I'll give you one more chance. This doesn't have to be as difficult as you're making it." he said. "Now, are you going to talk?"

Ninetales began to squirm in an attempt to free himself from his assailants grip. His attempts may have been futile, but still, he refused, "I told you, I don't know a thing." as his tails fell back to the ground.

Banette's otherwise cool shell broke, he boiled with anger. "I refuse to believe that, how can you not know anything?" he shouted.

"How many times do I have to tell pokemon like you?" Ninetales said, his voice pained as he continued to struggle against his opponent's clutch. "I. Don't. Know."

Banette dropped him, Ninetales gasping for air as he rubbed his neck, the two stared at each other in silence for a moment, waiting for Banette to finally say, "If you aren't going to talk willingly..." He punched Ninetales in the chest, knocking him flat against the ground. "...then your questioning has just turned into an interrogation."

Waiting a moment, Ninetales rolled to his feet, weighing his options as Banette advanced on him. The air around him began to chill, he pinned his ears to his head, narrowed his eyes and, with his tails held high, sprinted forwards. Banette charged a Shadow Claw and ran towards him, returning the charge. Ninetales steeled himself as he saw the claw swing for him, he sprang over his assailant's head, took aim and blasted a Powder Snow at the ground, creating a cloud of ice, and ran.

Banette stood confused for a moment. _What? Where did he go? _ he thought to himself. Pivoting on his heel, he saw a set of blue tails turn the corner and ran towards it. _I can't let a psycho like him get away._

Ninetales sprinted with everything that he could muster. _Shit, this can't be good, I've dealt with plenty of aggressive journalists, but nothing like this. _He skirted another corner back into the gray streets. _Did I lose him? I don't know, but I guess I'm about to find out. _Turning a final corner, he rested his back against a stone wall, panting heavily, his legs screaming for mercy. _How do those heroes in the books do this sort of thing?_

Banette found himself back in the streets, scanning the area left and right for his target, _How far could he have gotten _leaning against a pole and setting his eyes towards the ground, he accepted his defeat. As he left to try another day, he spied something across the ground, _Is that? _ He leaned over and saw that they were a set of paw prints that lead straight into the alley, where Ninetales was catching his breath, the two made eye contact, and Ninetales fled. "You're not getting away this time." he exclaimed, ripping off his arm and throwing it, striking his quarry square in the back, sending him tumbling to the floor.

_Damnit, I can't keep this up. _Ninetales thought, his legs felt like lead, and his body was sore, _I need to turn around and fight. _He clamored to his feet and swung around to fire an Aurora Beam and, nothing, his pursuer had disappeared. Ninetales dropped his concentration on the move to take a moment to sniff the air. Finding nothing but the left over arm, he shook his head and started to walk.

It was only a moment or two, but a hand gripped one of Ninetales' legs and flipped him into the air. Banette surged out of the ground and slammed into him, sending Ninetales flat against a wall, knocking the wind out of him, Ninetales fell to the ground. He tried to shoot an Aurora Beam, but was cut off by another punch, this time, straight to the top of the head, his attack backfiring and exploding in his face. Ninetales rolled, and this time he didn't get up as he thought, _Maybe if he thinks he knocked me out, he'll leave me alone. _but he wasn't so lucky as Banette fired another Shadow Ball, the attack slamming into Ninetales.

Ninetales' vision started to blur. _I'm going to die here, aren't I? _He thought, his entire body feeling sore. Every breath he drew feeling as if he were swallowing needles, his tail finding solace between his legs slamming his eyes shut in fear of what might come next, waiting for the end to come, and… it never did. Raising his head in confusion, he saw his assailant walking away.

He blinked a couple times, and struggled to his feet. "I could kill you right now, you're wide open." said Ninetales, his voice barely above a whisper.

Banette turned his head. "I sincerely doubt you would." he stated flatly.

He flinched at his statement. "How do you know that?" Ninetales asked.

There was a small lull as Banette moved near to Ninetales. "Your body language, I can tell you didn't want to fight, no, you don't want any of this. You may try to frighten me, but your tails don't lie." he said as he pointed to the tails still between Ninetales' legs. "If you were a criminal, you would run the second I cut you off, attacked the second I grabbed you, or even when I had my back turned. You were defensive, you weren't going to attack before I did."

Struggling to stand on his own, Ninetales replied, "because I'm innocent, at least, I think I am."

Banette's eyes went wide. "You, 'think' you're innocent?" he said, "What do you mean by that, you either are or you aren't, there's no in-between. So what are you saying?"

Ninetales raised his voice. "Because I. Don't. Know." he told him. "that's what I've been trying to tell you. The only thing I know is that I woke up next to pools of blood. I don't know anything about what happened." Ninetales started to tear up, his tails and ears drooping. "I… I just want to be left alone."

There was a long pause in their conversation, Banette finally breaking the silence. "you don't remember anything? Nothing at all?"

Ninetales' only response was a shake of his head.

Banette muttered something under his breath, mulling over this new information, "Well." he began, "Someone has to be guilty of something, but if the only known witness is an amnesiac, then how the hell can he be tried? How do we even know he had anything to do with this…" he paced for a few more minutes, "...Well, I guess there really isn't another option."

Turning towards Ninetales, Banette said, "If what you say is true, then I can't detain you, but I can't let you walk free either, so I have an offer: if you help me piece together a picture of this crime, then I'll help you as well, I'll even offer you protection." said Banette, taking a moment to pause. "Though, you don't really have much of a choice, since there will of course be others like me, though I suspect they'll be less, understanding."

"Are you? Threatening me?" Ninetales asked.

"Simply the facts. I promise you this, I'll do everything in my power to keep you a free pokemon," Banette said. "it's the best I can really do."

Ninetales took a moment to think. _Do I really have a choice here? I could refuse his offer, but if he's right, that wouldn't go well. I don't have much to lose by accepting, as long as he sticks by his part of the deal, this may be the best opportunity I have. Not only to prove my innocence, but to uncover my past. Though, this sounds too good to be true. _Ninetales opened his eyes, and said to him, "What's the catch on this 'protection'?"

Banette cleared his throat. "Well, you would be working for me as part of my Rescue Team, The Modern Crusaders, you will be paid and have all the benefits that come with it, including food and shelter." said Banette.

Ninetales nodded. _Rescue Team, _he thought. _I've heard that term before, they're those pokemon that help others, I may not be much of a fighter, but anything is better than being homeless. _He turned his head towards Banette, "Very well, I accept your offer."

Banette smiled, "I was hoping you'd say that, now then, come along with me. I'll introduce you to the other members, they'll be happy to meet you."

_I certainly hope so. _Ninetales thought as he slowly followed Banette.

* * *

A waiter came to the groups table, placing down the tray for their plates, a Rapidash, donning a plated helmet stopped him. "Don't worry about that, we'll handle it." He said as he waived away their waiter, they bowed and left the plates for them to divvy up amongst themselves.

"You know they get paid to do this job right, Frukkshin?" A Dragalge wearing a long gray scarf questioned, her voice flat and unamuse.

Frukkshin nodded. "Well, I like to make things a little easier for them, there's nothing wrong with that." he said, "Besides Irukan, I know you certainly wouldn't be arguing if someone did your job for you."

She sighed. "Do you know how much of an ass you sound like right now?" said Irukan as an Ampharos with hair spiked at the back rose from his seat to set out the plates. "Either way, has anyone seen Fringe?"

"No, not recently, I think he was out trying to catch that Ninetales. He shouldn't be too long though." Ampharos reminded them.

As Ampharos continued to set out the plates, Frukkshin looked at his a little strangely. "Ohm, I think you handed me the wrong plate on accide-"

Irukan cut him off. "-That's revenge for last time," she said in content vengeance. "maybe now you'll think twice before you pull the seat out from under me." the Dragalge leaned back and gave Frukkshin a smug grin.

The Rapidash lifted a hoof off the ground as he shot her a look, "Keep talking, seahorse." he announced, marching slowly towards her.

Irukan shot up from her seat. "You want a piece of this." she said, a hiss punctuated her sentence, motioning towards herself, they began to close the gap between each other. "Please," she said to him, venom dripping from her words. leaning close to Frukkshin's face. "you could at least try to hide that smile."

"You aren't doing much better." Frukkshin replied, a few moments of silence passed before they burst out laughing as they returned to their seats.

Lurantis looked between the two and sighed, "you okay Sylpheed, sweetie?" Irukan asked.

"Just, worried is all." She said, readjusting her red beret, "Worried that one day this will escalate a lot further than it needs to." Sylpheed leaned back in her chair and continued to write in her notebook.

Frukkshin laughed, as he said, "you would know if we were angry with each other… speaking of anger, Sylpheed, how has your education been going?"

"I heard that," Ohm said, his spiked hair twirling a little bit as he made eye contact with Frukkshin. "and it's been going fine."

"The broken table at home would like a word with you." Frukkshin said, taunting the Ampharos from across the table.

Ohm shot up from his seat. "You want to fight? Huh?" he shouted, Frukkshin couldn't help but smile as he dodged one of Ohm's punches, "Come one then, let's bring this outside, shall we!?"

A large Pangoro in a heavy coat got up and separated the two of them, "Ohm, settle down, Frukkshin, stop messing with Ohm."

"But he-"

"Ohm, sit down." Pangoro said, slowly pushing on the shoulder of the Ampharos to get him back in his seat.

Frukkshin chuckled. "Sorry, not sorry, Bancho." He said, going back to his cushion.

"As long as I don't have to separate the two of you again." said Bancho.

A few moments passed in silence. "Oh, quit smiling Frukkshin, you know Ohm has issues." Irukan said, scolding him but even now he refused to stop grinning. "I'm not joking this time." she lightly punched him with one of her fins.

"And, done." Sylpheed handed Ohm her notebook.

Ohm opened it and smiled. "Let's see how you did…" Ohm said, as his voice trailed off. "…huh?" he questioned, his face going blank.

Irukan with great trepidation asked, "Um, Ohm? Are you o-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Ohm, his hair sparking with anger, grabbed Sylpheed and slammed her head against the table. "What sort of idiot do you take me for!" he shouted. Bancho shot up and grabbed Ohm, and Frukkshin put his body in between the raging Ampharos and the dazed Lurantis, "How the hell do you get every question wrong on a true or false questionnaire!? A blind man randomly guessing should get at least half, how bad do you have to be at learning this!?" at his words, Frukkshin faintly smirked at Sylpheed.

Bancho struggled to hold Ohm, as he tried to rip himself free. "Damnit, Irukan a little help here would be-" he was cut off by Ohm's squirming. "-appreciated."

Irukan dashed over, and was about to use her venom to sedate Ohm, when. "What the hell is happening here!" Fringe demanded. The whole group paused. "You're – whatever this is – is disturbing the other guests at this establishment."

The entire group stopped what they were doing. Bancho dropped Ohm, and Irukan in turn backed away from him. Sylpheed dusted herself off, not seeming too badly injured. Frukkshin cleared his throat and gave the Dragalge a somewhat apologetic look.

Ohm paused a moment, and rubbing his temple, he relented. "Sorry. Fringe, and, um, you too, Sylpheed." with his head low, he went back to his seat. The rest of the group soon following.

A few moments passed between them as they got settled back in. Fringe eyed each of them with some uncertainty before clearing his throat. He motioned Ninetales over, who hesitated for a moment before making himself known. Ohm began to stand but was halted by Bancho, who pushed him back down once again. "As you all may or may not have heard, there has been a crime that is tied to the Ninetales I have in front of you all today." he motioned towards him with a hand. "However, there has been some… complications: he's an amnesiac-"

Ninetales interjected, "Well, that's not entirely true…" his voice was shaky and uncertain, his tails falling low to the ground.

Fringe took a moment and nodded. "Would you like to explain yourself?" he said, sternly, but understanding.

He froze in his place, Ninetales wanted nothing more than to back down now but he'd already committed. "It's… complicated and I'm not sure if I understand it myself, but…" Ninetales' jaw went rigid, his voice trailing off as he tried desperately to gather his thoughts together, _If I say this, I'll sound insane. Why did I have to open my big maw? _The group was looking at him expectantly, he was shivering down to his core in fear, Fringe was about to continue when. "My memory is a mess, okay? Events start and end with no 'why's' or 'how's,' my fifth birthday feels as if it were but a week ago, but my twentieth feels like it was forever ago, I remember nothing about my seventeenth, and I just don't understand why." Cold tears stained his face, his ears drooped and he crumpled to the floor, repeating the words. "I don't get it." as if it were some prayer that would lend him an answer.

The other six stared at him speechless, all of them trying to process what had happened in front of them. Sylpheed was the first to speak up. "I believe him."

"Did Soma tell you that?" Irukan replied, then turning back to the others, she said, "I doubt his story is true, but if there's any chance he isn't lying to our faces, then I have to take it."

Bancho nodded in agreement. "Something about this seems off. But I agree, we can't just turn him away."

"Exactly," said Frukkshin as he turned towards Ninetales. "Your story is a little weird, and maybe I don't really understand it, but you're clearly a pokemon in need, I'll help you."

Ohm looked towards all the others, crossed his fins and laid back in his seat. "I suppose all of you are right," he said. "I don't know if he's telling the truth or not, but I don't think I could live with myself if he is and I refused him."

Fringe smiled confidently. "I see we're all in agreement about him then, very well." he said as he motioned towards all of them and gave a thumbs up. "This is the job: we work with him to find out his connection to the crime, and in return for his help we will treat him as one of our own."

Ninetales looked up, tears still running down his face. "Thank you." he said, sniffling a little bit. "I can't say that enough."

Fringe sat down at the table and motioned for Ninetales to follow, who looked at him with hesitance. Fringe chuckled and told him, "Heh, I get it, don't worry, meals on me tonight. Now come on." Ninetales got up, and with one more nervous glance at Fringe, he sat down. "I'll order for you, unless you've been here before, that is."

Ninetales shook his head. "I've never really been out before." he said, staring distantly at the menu.

"I'll handle it then…" Fringe turned towards the waiter and began to order.

Sylpheed looked strangely at Ninetales. "Do you remember anything, anything at all?"

Ninetales snapped his attention towards her. "I think I just explained that."

She shook her head. "No, not the big picture, but little things, like your age, name, some vague feeling that you shouldn't be a pokemon – stuff like that."

He reached a paw up to rub his chin, his tails flicking from side-to-side, staring at the ceiling for some time. "Name?" he said the word as if it were some foreign concept to him, a sound without meaning to it.

"Yeah… the thing you refer to yourself by – a name." Sylpheed rubbed her face with one of her claws, "You do know what a name is, right?"

Ninetales shook his head. "I think I know what you're talking about, but I'm not entirely sure what it is."

"Well, I think I'll just stick to Ninetales for the time being, I don't really know you too well." Sylpheed giggled a little, and then shook her head and leaned forwards. "I should probably tell you before you make a fool of yourself, usually unless you know someone well, you use their species name, my name is Sylpheed, but since we're not close, you would call me Lurantis. Get it?" she was whispering it as if it were some secret.

Ninetales took a moment to process her statement and responded, "So I wouldn't say Sylpheed until I get to know you better, so until then I say Lurantis?" Sylpheed nodded to confirm.

Fringe turned to Ninetales to hand him his food. "Well, I guess you just have to name yourself." he chuckled a bit as Ninetales thanked him.

Ninetales ate his food slowly, putting more effort into thinking as he ignored the conversations going on around him, _Name myself? I suppose I could, but what would be a good name for myself? _he glanced around the room looking for some sort of answer, glancing at the calendar on the wall. _Arctic? No, too traditional… _turning his attention to the outside. _Breeze? No, I'm not a flying type… _his attention still focused out the window. _Frost? Once again, a little too normal. It has to sound interesting, but not weird, one that rolls off the tongue. _As he looked down, he noticed the name of the dish that Fringe had brought him "Le Flocon de Sel: La Spéciale de Septmaine" _Flocon, that means flake, right, like Flocon de Neige? And my earliest memories are of this… Septmaine. Well then, Flocon Septembre, it's fitting and has a nice ring to it. _And with that thought Flocon let out a little grunt of satisfaction and a smile.

Flocon reached up and began to rub his jaw, oblivious to Sylpheed's staring, it wasn't until she was a few inches away that he recoiled back. Irukan pulled the Lurantis back back. "Try not to scare him off." she told her.

Sylpheed gave the Dragalge a shrug before proceeding to look over at Flocon, she told him, "You know; you have nice eyes"

Ohm stopped eating and said, "Sylpheed that's a bit of a strange thing to say to someone you've just met." As he said this, Flocon went back to tending to his jaw.

"Well, he does, just look at him," Sylpheed said, motioning towards Ninetales. "I've never seen eyes like that. They're blue with these orange stripes an-"

Fringe sighed. "Ohm's right, try not to scare him off, you all know it's hard enough to find pokemon willing to work in this field." The others shared a few glances, and nodded. "Good, now let's stop asking him weird questions."

Flocon smiled internally. _Well, nice to know some of them are looking out for me. _He thought as he looked over all of them. _The Modern Crusaders, was it? I guess, this isn't so bad after all. _Flocon's tails gave a few brief wags. "I look forward to working with all of you." he said, resolution in his voice.

Fringe smiled and replied, "We'll have this case solved in no time."

The table gave a small cheer, a new member had been added to their family and a new mystery on their hands.

* * *

First official chapter out. here's to another 48.

Now all I have to do is keep to my update schedule.

Newest update: I'm alive I think? uhh, so, that hiatus lasted longer than I thought it would because editing three chapters turned into editing almost every chapter so yeah... I'll probably just update all of these once a day then continue as normal... hopefully? I'm not too sure if I'm totally there yet but I'll certainly try.


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to the Team

First of all, I'd like to thank Team_Ion_Pokemon, NaturallyDark, and MultiKirby for reviewing my last chapter. Now then, on with the show.

* * *

The group finished and paid for their meal, as they filed out of the restaurant, Fringe started a small conversation with the newly named Ninetales, "Seeing as you have yet to see the base, Ninetales." Fringe paused to glance over at the Lurantis. "Sylpheed, show him around when we get back."

Sylpheed perked up and nodded. "Got it." She told him, the flowing collar on her shirt whiffing around a bit as she did so.

As they left, Flocon took one more look back at the sign set up in front, The Howlin' Mightyena. _I'll have to come back here one of these days. _He thought, thought he also knew that it probably wasn't going to happen, at least not anytime soon.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at a fairly plain apartment complex in Galet, appearing no different from the other stone and stucco buildings, some of them so tall Flocon had to take a few steps back to see the top. Fringe invited them into the lobby, once again, nothing special, a few brass mailboxes and a low ceiling that was supported by wooden beams. On the plus side, at least it wasn't trying to oversell itself. Leading his group up the staircase to the apartment.

The inside was small and cramped with the seven of them in there, however Bancho went over and shoved aside one of the bookshelves, revealing another doorway on the other side of it, also locked. Fringe unlocked said door with another set of keys and the group slowly filed in once more. Fringe let himself go last to push the bookshelf into its initial position, phasing through the wall instead to get into the somewhat spacious base that is the rest of the apartment.

The windows lower to the ground had the curtains drawn, the only windows that let light through were up near the ceiling. There were a few tables and chairs placed in the center of the room. _Why is one of the tables broken? And it looks like one of the chairs is missing too. _Flocon thought a bit confused. Deciding not to think much of it, Flocon looked to the side to see a line of bookshelves, and a board with a bunch of papers tacked onto it. And when he looked to his other side there were two hallways.

Fringe turned to face Flocon and with a wide motion he said, "Well then Ninetales, this is the base it isn't exactly big, but it's enough, from here on out you'll be working and rooming with Frukkshin and Sylpheed-" he was cut off by a small cheer from her before continuing. "-and she will show you around." He said, motioning towards the giddy Lurantis.

Flocon turned to Frukkshin and smiled but stopped when he noticed he was giving him a funny look, he had his mouth opened as if he were about to say something. This was quickly cut off by Sylpheed. "Come on." she announced, grabbing ahold of Flocon and pulling him to the middle of the room.

Flocon was a little confused but said, "I already saw, but sure… I guess."

Frukkshin chuckled and followed the two of them. "I suppose I can offer a helping hoof." he muttered.

Sylpheed stood in the middle of the room and motioned around her. "This is the main room, if you want to talk to someone, you do it here." She said, pointing to a few seats around a table, she then turned Flocon's attention to the board. "That's the notice board where you pick up jobs at, Fringe is very good about putting up the new jobs and removing old ones. We try to pick up a couple at a time. Makes things a bit easier in the long run." She then turned him to face the bookshelves. "And those are a mixed bag of training manuals and stories, Irukan keeps them in order."

Before Flocon could ask any questions, Sylpheed whisked him into one of the hallways to another room. This one had a stack of wood in the corner, along the wall stood two wood fired stoves with slabs of oven bricks stacked up neatly between them. Clay pots of water sat nicely on a short table beside it, cupboards were mounted above all of them with various ingredients and utensils filling them. All behind a counter top, which was behind a long table. "This is the dining room, Ohm and Frukkshin handle all the cooking, though we usually only eat breakfast and dinner here, today was a bit of a special day." She told him

"Alright then." Flocon sounded a bit confused as he was dragged into another room.

The room smelled strange and foreign, but whatever it was, Flocon gagged. "This is the medical bay, if you get an injury that we can't treat in the field, we bring you here," She said before pointing to herself. "and it's run by yours truly." there was a hint of pride in Sylpheed's voice as she spoke.

Flocon opened his mouth as if to say something, but by the time he had taken his first breath, Sylpheed had already dragged him into a new room. "Sylpheed, I'm busy." Bancho told her, moving a box onto one of the metal storage shelves lining the room. The room itself was not big, but it was very efficient with what it had.

Sylpheed, seemingly unfazed, told Flocon, "This is the storage room, Bancho does all the heavy-lifting… not much else to say or see here."

As she dragged Flocon off to another room, Bancho, without turning, said, "See you tomorrow." His voice was deadpan and somewhat unamused.

The room she bought him into was small, though tidy, with two straw beds sprawled across the ground near the center, a small couch placed against the wall with a short table in front of it, two chests labeled "Sylpheed" and "Frukkshin" were sat against the opposite wall, a couple shelves with various items stacked up above them, and a bag of supplies sat between them. "And this is our room, which is also yours as well. We'll get you set up and then I'll tell you about the job board in the morning. Oh, and don't touch our stuff, okay?" She said, letting go of Flocon after tapping him on the nose and chuckling.

Flocon shook out his fur and nodded. "Okay then." He said, as he sort of scratched his nose as best he could.

Sylpheed nodded and perked up again. "I almost forgot, rules, okay, there are only a few rules here that you need to follow: never sell out your teammates, never steal from your teammates, always follow through on the jobs you do, show up to meetings on time – we have one in the morning and occasionally in the afternoon, and don't be a dick." She said, "I'm sure you can follow them."

Sylpheed left the room, leaving Flocon the time to process everything. Before he was done doing even that much Frukkshin backed up into the room, dragging a chest with him and setting it near the others, he turned towards Flocon and told him, "Carve your name on this when you have the time, this is where you'll store all your things that you don't want anyone else getting into; anything you don't mind, just put it on the shelves." Flocon nodded.

Sylpheed followed him and threw down a pile of straw. "Set this up however you like it." She said as she walked over to her pile and curled up on the ground.

Flocon began to work on spreading out the straw in a way that he was comfortable with, Nodding along with nothing in particular, Frukkshin looked over at him. "By the way, if you're going to be working with us, I'd like to get an estimate of your abilities, see what type of pokemon you are." He said.

Looking up from what he was doing, but not really stopping, Flocon asked, "How so?"

Frukkshin smiled at him and straightened himself to stand at his full height. "A sparring match seems like it would be enough. I expect you won't hold back." He said with resolution.

Flocon, content with his work, laid down and asked, "I suppose I don't really have a choice?" Frukkshin shook his head. "Well then, I'll ready myself for it… I guess?"

"Then tomorrow, after breakfast, but before lunch." He said before going to lay down on his own pile.

Nodding his head and letting out a yawn. _Today's been quite a day. _He thought, looking up at Sylpheed and Frukkshin. _I know I just met them, but… I trust them, maybe not a lot, but at least a little bit. But, why is my memory the way it is? There has to be an answer, right? _Flocon shook his head. _I shouldn't worry about that too much right now, besides, I have to fight Rapidash tomorrow, I should get some sleep, best to not disappoint him. _Flocon curled up with his tails and closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

* * *

Flocon was abruptly awoken by violent shaking, he leapt to his feet in fear, only to be met by Sylpheed. "Rise and shine, Sleepytales, it's breakfast time." She sang as she grabbed Flocon by the scruff again to drag him to the dining room.

"Lurantis, do you really have to drag me everywhere?" Flocon protested, finding her actions both degrading and painful.

She let go of him. "Sorry about that." Sylpheed apologised and kinda withdrew a bit, backing away from the slightly irate Ninetales. "I can be a little much at times."

"And you're telling me this?" he mumbled.

Flocon entered into the dining room with a huff and grabbed a plate near Sylpheed and Frukkshin. "Ninetales," Fringe called before he even had a chance to get situated. "I need to talk to you a moment after breakfast."

He nodded. "Sure thing." Flocon said.

Breakfast was finished by all of them, it wasn't anything special, but Flocon wasn't complaining, after all, it was a lot better than his cooking.

Everyone left one-by-one at varying intervals, Flocon staying behind to talk with Fringe, who said, "I'll be telling you a little more about our arrangements: for every mission you do, I'll be taking twenty percent to put back into the guild. What's leftover you can split amongst your team of which I'll have to take out ten percent of what you make to put towards a safe to fund whatever steps we need to take during your investigation. Whatever's leftover you can keep when we finish this case of yours. Any questions? Objections?"

Flocon mulled it over for a few minutes before finally shaking his head. "None that I can think of." He said.

"Very well, I think we should start by finding a geriatrician for you. Maybe they could figure out why you can't remember anything, if they can't figure it out, then we might have to find a specialist of some kind for you. A physician too, we need to know if you have any conditions we need to worry about before moving forward." Fringe said as he grabbed a stack of papers, walking out of the room he called back to Flocon, "Dismissed."

Flocon looked around for a few moments before sighing, walking out into the main room and standing next to Frukkshin and Sylpheed, who were sifting through some jobs on the notice board.

"I think these will do great for his first – Ninetales when did you get here?" Sylpheed exclaimed, leaping back in surprise, almost dropping the papers in her claws.

Frukkshin smiled at him. "Alright, the plan for today is that we'll travel to this Mystery Dungeon – Purple Bog – and do our job. But not before our little spar, which we'll have in a field outside of the Mystery Dungeon." He said with a slight nod. "Sound good?"

Flocon tilted his head. "Sure." He replied. "But I do have one question Rapidash."

"Go ahead."

"What's a Mystery Dungeon?"

Frukkshin stared blankly at Flocon, taking a moment to recompose himself he answered, "Hmmm… it's a bit difficult to explain what a Mystery Dungeon is, once you see one, most of your questions will be answered." He let out a long neigh, his ears pinned to the side of his head and after loitering for a short while, he led his group outside.

As they left the complex, the plateaus of stone called buildings stood above them once more, Frukkshin stood next to a metal pole and hailed down a carriage. Once it came to a halt at the pole. "Taxi," he said in greeting. "We need you to bring us as close as you can to Purple Bog, you know where that is, right?"

The driver looked down at them in confusion before finally saying. "Ah, I get it, you must be one of them Exploration Teams from far off. Very well, 50 poke from the each of you and I'll get you there in a jiff." They climbed on and paid the driver, Frukkshin and Sylpheed seemed to deflate a bit as they sat down. The driver then turned back to the Mudsdale and called, "Right men, let's get them to where they need to go."

The clopping of the Mudsdale driving the carriage echoed through the streets. Flocon was used to seeing crowds of pokemon lining the cobblestone sidewalks, but at this time of day the city looked abandoned and as they made their way through Flocon glanced around curiously from his low position. There was a dead silence inside the small carriage until Sylpheed finally broke it. "you know, Ninetales, you should really take better care of your fur." she said as she tugged a bit at his fur using the tip of a claw.

Flocon looked at her confusedly. "Why? I get that it's sort of a matted mess, but it doesn't bother me that much." he responded. "Besides, I'll just get it all messed up again fighting and exploring."

"Still, it isn't good for you, clean fur is healthy fur after all. And do you know how soft you could be if you took better care of it?" She said as she began to tug at a mass of his fur, much to his dismay. "There's a lot here, it could be so nice and fluffy. Like a soft and cool blanket."

Frukkshin chuckled. "And why exactly does that matter?" he said, smiling at the antics of the Lurantis.

Sylpheed leaned into the Rapidash's side. "Well, you're warm don't get me wrong, but you don't have any fur to sink into." she teased.

"I refuse to be treated as a mattress Sylpheed!" Frukkshin protested, blush crossing his face as he scooted away from her. Flocon couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle as he glanced between the two of them. "Oh that settles it," Frukkshin said in a dark voice, staring down Flocon. "now you have to get your fur done."

The three of them sat in silence for a moment until Frukkshin and Sylpheed burst out laughing the next, leaving a very confused Flocon to watch them. But they were quickly cut off by the driver. "This is as far as I can take the lot of you, Purple Bog is just a bit to the North about a few miles, you'll be there in a few minutes."

Flocon stood up and as he disembarked with the others he asked, "Is this really as far as you can take us?"

The driver turned to face him and said in a gruff voice, "You're either new to these parts, or you've been living under a stone for your entire life. Entire city of Galet's built atop a peninsula, and guarded by this massive Mystery Dungeon - Marais Morte - biggest in the world, so big they had to split it up into a bunch of smaller ones to make sense of the thing. But to this day, none have ever crossed it start to finish and lived to tell the tale, much less made it to the heart and back, though, I'd imagine both would make quite the story." he said, laughing at the last bit as the carriage began its return. Clattering as it made its way into the foggy city.

Flocon turned towards Frukkshin then turned away with a soft, but persistent growl coming from him, he took notice and told him, "This entire area was part of some massive disaster centuries ago called the Great Fold, it's why you don't see many Legendaries still around. Supposedly it's also why Mystery Dungeons are around too…" He took a moment to think and sighed. "You'll have to ask Ohm, he knows this stuff better than I do. But that's neither here nor there, what's here is this: are you prepared?" he said as he straightened his stance and rose to his full height.

"Huh?" said Flocon, shaking his head and blinking a few times. "Rapidash, If this place is so dangerous, wouldn't it be better to wait until we're out of the dungeon?"

Frukkshin clicked his tongue. "While I might agree under normal circumstances Ninetales. The part we're going into, Purple Bog, isn't too dangerous, so we should be fine." he said. "Even then, Sylpheed can heal us, at least to some extent, so we can be a little more… aggressive."

Staring down Flocon, Frukkshin's flames begin to flare up. He stomped the ground a few times, lowered his head and widened his stance. Flocon realized that there was no way to back out now, his tails quivering as they rose into the air, he lowered his stance and splayed his legs.

Sylpheed looked between the two of them and backed away. "Just be careful you two." she shouted as she withdrew a bit. "Don't kill each other."

Frukkshin turned and nodded toward the worried Lurantis. After a few moments he turned back to Flocon, smiling, he launched forward and fired a Flamethrower.

Flocon sprung to the side, allowing himself room to maneuver past the flames, but as the flames touched the ground they hissed. A plume of steam blinded Flocon and let Frukkshin slam into him with ease, sending the Ninetales tumbling backwards across the muddy ground.

Recovering and climbing back to his paws Flocon looked up and saw his fiery opponent standing there, watching him. The Ninetales returned the stare for a moment, Frukkshin lowered his head and began to charge him once more. However Ninetales ran to the side firing an Aurora Beam. Frukkshin jumped out of the way, dodging it with ease, the beam struck the ground instead and he took the moment as a chance to taunt Flocon, "You need to learn to lead your shots."

Flocon smirked at him, watching him touch down and slip on the icy surface and smash his face against the ground. Flocon took the opportunity to reposition himself and charge Frukkshin. The Rapidash snorted as his body's temperature began an ascent, his flames rose with vigor, melting the ice around him letting him get back to his hooves with ease. He turned and kicked Flocon straight in the face, cracking the Ninetales' jaw and sending him to the ground.

Shaking his face dry as he climbed back to his paws, Flocon began to charge once more, Frukkshin grinned and stormed forwards. What looked like a Flame Charge was headed straight for the Ninetales who prepared to dodge, closing the distance between them. But as they got nearer to one another the fire wreathing Frukkshin splayed out in heightened intensity a spray of steam now following his stampede. One that left no room for Flocon to try and dodge. Flocon focused for a moment, chilling the air around him and firing a Powder Snow to break Frukkshin's concentration but the attack vaporized the second it came into contact with the roaring flames. Frukkshin was entirely unfazed as he slammed into Flocon with his attack, heavily damaging the Ninetales, skipping him across the ground as if he were a stone on a river.

Flocon struggled while on the ground. _What was that? It was like a Flame Charge, but with an abnormal strength behind it, I felt it down to my core. _Flocon thought as he repositioned himself, tails flicking in the air. _It seems that by altering the way you use moves, you can change the end effect it has. When I use my Powder Snow, I condense the water in the air to make an attack. But maybe if I condense the air in the right way, perhaps I can make an armor of sorts._

Frukkshin composed himself and flared his tail a few more times, blazing his mane hotter than ever before, the flames rising to ever greater heights and taking on this odd, yellow tinge.

As Flocon looked back up, he noticed that Frukkshin's breathing seemed to be heavy, irregular, as if he were struggling to even stand. _The only issue; it would require so much precision that I'd need time to make it cover my entire body, though, maybe I can get away with only a shield._

Frukkshin shook out his body and began another charge. Flocon put on a brave face and chilled the air around him as he began to move forward at a jog as he focused on his next move. He felt the first few ice crystals forming and began to shape the air so that they surrounded him. The Ninetales then broke into a sprint and leapt into the air, surrounded by an icy shell, withstanding the Flame Charge Frukkshin was using and smashing into him.

But one fatal miscalculation was all it took. Flocon had failed to account for Frukkshin's horn and though the strike did a lot more than just daze his opponent, the horn broke through, the armor shattered like glass. The horn on his opponent provided a point for Flocon to lever forward. He fell straight into Frukkshin's flames, singing his fur, and bruising his ribs as he smashed into the Rapidash's back before bouncing and falling to the ground in defeat.

Frukkshin fell to his knees, stunned by the attack, looking back at Flocon in a mix of respect and shock. "Impressive fight." he said, a small smile crossing his face. "Very impressive."

* * *

Flocon did his best to stifle a yelp of pain as he awoke violently. "Sorry." said Sylpheed, taking her claws off of him. As soon as she did, the pain returned to a slow throbbing and he weakly turned his head towards her.

He felt someone nudge him and turned to face the source of it, Frukkshin, who seemed perfectly fine. Flocon opened his mouth but was stopped by a hoof. "You're going to ask what that pain was about," he said, Flocon nodding in turn. "That's just Sylpheed's doing."

Sylpheed nodded and turned back to Flocon to say, "I have a type of healing ability," her voice seemed almost unsure of itself. "but to call it that is sort of a lie, it's mostly that I speed up all the natural things already there." to demonstrate she touched her claw to a seedling as it quickly grew into a full flower. "And when I say everything, I mean it, pain too." She stroked the back of her head and blushed. "So you'll heal, but It'll hurt. All I can do is heal you slowly enough where you hopefully won't die of shock."

Flocon's ears drooped and he sighed. "Good to hear." he said, his voice as flat and bland as an ice rink. Giving a sigh he just relaxed and let the madness continue.

Sylpheed grabbed a wad of plant and shoved it into a very confused Ninetales maw. "Bite down on this, you'll thank me later." she told Flocon, who reluctantly followed her directions. Her claws surrounded themselves with an ethereal light as she tended to his injuries.

Flocon shut his eyes, whining in anticipation and fear, his tails hiding between his legs as she touched his wounds. the pain shot through his entire body causing him to squirm a bit. Frukkshin had to hold him down to keep him from writhing out of Sylpheed's touch. He groaned in pain as she did her job feeling his vision fade in and out, but after some time it all dissipated like nothing was there in the first place.

Sylpheed wiped her forehead. "And done, most of your wounds weren't very deep but try not to wriggle so much in the future, because if you break something and it doesn't align when I heal it, it never will." she told him.

Flocon spat out the wad of plant. Looking up at her he half-shouted his response, "Well, if it wasn't so painful, I wouldn't squirm."

She flinched away and told him, "Then think of it as a reason to not get hurt in the first place."

Flocon's face went blank, his head falling low and his ears drooping. "Will do…" he said, letting out a long sigh.

Frukkshin let out a hearty laugh. "That was a good fight there Ninetales… tell me, what was that trick at the end?" he asked.

Looking back up at Frukkshin, a small smile crossed Flocon's face. "Figured it out on the spot by watching you." he replied, shaking his fur away from his face.

"Huh?" Frukkshin remarked as he recoiled, his eyes going wide. Though he shook off the expression soon after. "Great improvisation then." Frukkshin stood up and placed a firm hoof on Flocon's shoulder. "You may fit in better than I initially thought, Ninetales…" his head fell low as his voice trailed off. "No, that doesn't sound right." he muttered.

Flocon perked up. "Rapidash, do you feel okay?" he asked, looking up at him with some concern.

Frukkshin puffed. "That doesn't sound right either…" he said with a groan. "That settles it, allow me to introduce myself as Frukkshin D. Spossis, and may I have your name?"

"Flocon Septembre." he responded, smiling at him.

"Flocon, huh?" said Frukkshin. "Probably not what I would've chosen for you, you're certainly no flake." He let out a snort. "Though I do have to admit that it does sound nice."

Sylpheed shrugged. "If he can trust you… I guess I can too." she said, extending a claw to him. "Sylpheed S. Schizmun, nice to meet you Flocon. You don't mind, do you?" she tacked on, realizing she might've gone a bit too far as she withdrew once more.

"Not at all." Flocon said with a smile.

Sylpheed gave a small cheer as she got back up. "We're pretty close to where we need to be." she said with a new energy to her voice.

Flocon glanced around himself. "Come on then Flocon." Frukkshin said as he began to walk towards what he could only assume to be Purple Bog.

"This place looks a little…" Flocon said, mulling over his next statement. "…suspect, creepy maybe?" Purple Bog stood before the Ninetales, its curling wisps of violet fog looked as if they were trying to pull the trio in.

Sylpheed perked up after a few moments. "Flocon did you say something?" she asked.

Flocon turned to face the Lurantis and shook his head before turning back to the bog. "Huh?" Flocon expressed, looking around curiously, a soft growl coming from him.

Frukkshin came up beside him, nudging him with a hoof to get his attention, he asked him, "Something troubling you?"

"Yeah…" Flocon said, his voice trailing off. "I thought there was a tree there." he motioned towards an empty space.

Casting his gaze towards Sylpheed, Frukkshin motioned towards Flocon. "Oh, that happens all the time in Mystery Dungeons." she told him. "Nothing to worry about there, as long as we're out fast enough, we'll be good."

Flocon stopped her from moving forward. "Okay, you've said some strange things to me today." he said, his tails rising slightly. "But you're not explaining anything, so I'll ask you again, what's a Mystery Dungeon?" his voice was shaky, as if it were a lit fuse.

Rolling his eyes, and letting out a huff, Frukkshin told him, "For an Ice-type, you certainly have a hot head. But, all I know is that they form over ley-lines that intersect."

"...What's a ley-line." Flocon said, his face starting to twitch a little.

"They carry Native Energy through the lands and seas. It's what we use to create our attacks."

Flocon let his tails down. "What? What does any of this mean?" he said, letting out a small growl.

"Like I said before, Ohm's really the only one who knows anything about Mystery Dungeons. All I've told you is all I know." Frukkshin said, looking over into the Purple Bog then up at the sky. "We have to move now, it's not a large Mystery Dungeon, but every second we waste here, is another second we could be in there." he motioned towards the Mystery Dungeon. "And being caught here in the dark is death waiting to happen."

"I thought you said it was safe here." Flocon said as he recoiled a bit in disbelief.

"At day it is, night is a different matter. They don't call it Marais Morte because it's a fun place to be, luckily for us, that means fewer ferals to worry about." he said, trudging into the coiling mist.

Sylpheed walked past Flocon and motioned for him to follow. "Stay by me. Okay? There's a lot of Poison-types here, my powers can help injuries but they can't drain venom, and we only have so many antidotes."

Flocon nodded as he heeled besides her and with his tails flicking and his ears perked, the two headed inside after Frukkshin.

As they entered, there was a small but noticeable shift in the air, it was heavier, denser. Frukkshin tilted one ear back and nodded, acknowledging the presence of the others and shifted his ear back forwards, letting the two of them follow.

The sod below was loose, Flocon sinking a few inches into it with every step, he tried to sniff the air, but he couldn't smell anything other than a slightly sour and rotten smell that made him gag. The trees above him were dense, leaving precious little space for light to filter down through.

Flocon shifted a little nearer to Sylpheed as he heard some chattering in the underbrush. "Don't worry about it," she whispered, making him jump a little. "They shouldn't attack unless we do something to them."

"They definitely sound like they will." Flocon whispered back. Looking up at her worriedly, he said, "This place, it's putting me on edge."

Sylpheed lightly touched his shoulder. "Flocon, there's no such thing as an aggressive feral, it just doesn't happen." she told him in a soft voice. "We're on their territory, like… if you broke into someone's house, like that. They'll only get angry if we start making a bunch of trouble."

Frukkshin lagged a little for a moment. "I don't think we'll have any issues, it seems we caught the locals in a good mood. As long as we don't make any sudden movements, we'll be fine." he said in a low voice to both of them. Afterwards, he increased his trot to take the lead once more.

The group had only one or two run-ins with wild pokemon, though most of them were simple enough to take out. After an hour or so, they reached a clearing in the bog.

Frukkshin scanned the area for a moment before muttering something to himself. "This place should do for a quick rest, but I don't want to stay long, we still have a few jobs to complete." He folded his legs on the ground letting his head rest on them, his fire falling to a more gentle flame.

Sylpheed set down the bag and sat near him, leaning on him and facing the opposite direction. Flocon had to stifle a chuckle as he curled up. _Well, it certainly seems like he doesn't mind. _He thought, facing the way they came in. After letting out a small yawn and licking his lips a few times he doubled over his tails to keep himself cold, letting the stress in his body fade.

"Alright, I think we should head out now." Frukkshin said to the others a few minutes later, he stood up and began stretching, letting Sylpheed fall back and hit her head on the ground, his fire flaring back up.

Sylpheed gripped the back of her head. "Thank Arceus for my shell, why does that always happen?" she exclaimed.

Flocon perked up and stretched out, cracking his bones and releasing tension. He let out a large yawn, Frukkshin doing much the same. Sylpheed raised her arms above her head and let them down slowly. The group then prepared to head deeper into the dungeon ahead of them.

As they headed in deeper, Flocon turned back towards Sylpheed and asked, "What was that question yesterday?"

Sylpheed took a few moments before she realized that he was talking to her. "Which one?" she asked.

"About me maybe feeling that I shouldn't be a pokemon? What was that supposed to mean?"

Sylpheed turned quickly away from him. "Well, I was thinking, maybe you're a human. I mean, all humans in history had little to no memory." she told him, a small frown crossed her face. "Though most of them did have at least a fleeting feeling of being one."

Flocon waited a moment before nodding. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," he said. "it's weird, but the more I think about it, the more I feel like you're right. Or at least partially right." he paused as Sylpheed looked down at him. "Something about me, doesn't feel… like it should." he looked down at his paws foreignly.

Looking forwards, Sylpheed said, "Well, that's why you're here, isn't it? But that is weird."

"I feel like…" Flocon trailed off, he bit the bottom of his lip. "...like something is off."

Half-turning his head, Frukkshin chimed in, "I'd wager that's just your memories being a mess, give it another month, see how you're feeling." he turned his head back forward saying, "Tell me if you're ever bothered by it. And Sylpheed, quit it with this human talk."

Sylpheed narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you forget the prophecy." she said.

Snorting in amusement and rolling his eyes Frukkshin said, "Yeah, sure, I'd think I'd know if it were set into motion, so would everyone else."

Flocon perked up a little. "Prophecy, what prophecy?"

The two halted and after sharing a glance Sylpheed turned around to face Flocon and said, "There's a prophecy foretelling disaster, the first sign is that the three districts of Galet will come together. There are a few more, like the innocent thief, but they ultimately end up with what will be the second Great Fold. I think there will be a human in there."

Huffing loudly, Frukkshin offered his thoughts, "Yeah, you talk like it'll ever happen, the districts have been separate for as long as Galet's been around and rebuilt, twice. And then came the invaders that took over…" Frukkshin shook his head. "To make a long story short, it isn't happening, I would know, everyone in the damn city, nay, the whole fucking empire would know. And if it does, I can say with certainty, not in my life time, not in Sylpheed's, not in yours." Frukkshin stamped the ground a few times, letting out a huff and turning around, beginning to walk once more.

"So why do humans happen?" Flocon asked.

Sylpheed shrugged. "Nobody really knows."

"Let's just keep moving." Frukkshin said, cutting off any further conversation and letting out a grunt.

The other two exchanged a look but said nothing as they began to move once more into the foggy depths of the bog.

The three of them stumbled out of the dungeon, Flocon looked up and said, "I never thought I would miss the groggy air of Galet, but stranger things have happened." He let his head down as they moved through the streets. His pockets lined with a few extra poke. The ones that were going back into the guild already factored in and placed in another bag.

"You acclimate to it… eventually." Frukkshin told him, letting out a small neigh.

"Alright, we're heading back now though, right?" Flocon asked, eyeing upwards at his fellow pokemon.

Sylpheed grabbed a hold of him. "Not until we get you all groomed up, especially with how you did near the end." She exclaimed. Flocon let out a long groan, his tails drooping as she slung him over Frukkshin. The Rapidash just rolled his eyes and kept moving.

"Where to first, Sylpheed?" Frukkshin asked.

"Let's get his fur cleaned up. Then we can get him something to make him unique…" her voice trailed off as she glanced over at Flocon. "well, more than he is now. Never seen a Ninetales like him really." the two chuckled and kept moving. The streets were mostly cleaned out at this time of day, the sun still hung high in the sky but it wasn't rush hour just yet.

Flocon rolled over on Frukkshin's back and let out a sigh. _This is my life now I guess. _He thought, letting his eyes trail over the sloped roofs of the three-story buildings and awnings of various colors.

The sky above him was gray like the sidewalk beneath him, creating a nice contrast to the dull brick road that echoed with the occasional clattering of a cart or the occasional stomping of pokemon like Rhyperior or Aggron.

But soon enough Frukkshin lowered himself to the ground and tilted back. Flocon slowly slid off him and onto the ground. The Ninetales didn't protest, at least not vocally.

Flocon sighed as he got to his fett, looking up at the sign in the barred window. "Doesn't exactly look, welcoming." he said, a bit suspicious of the shop.

Before he could say anything further Sylpheed dragged him into the groomers. It was fairly plain though surprisingly clean which gave Flocon a bit of hope that maybe this wouldn't be too bad.

A Scizor at the desk peered up from his book, garbed in a long gray robe to keep fur from his carapace. He greeted them one by one. "Ah, Lurantis, Rapida… oh my, you look quite the mess." he got up and walked around Flocon. The Ninetales sat down roughly, lowering his head as his ears pinned to the side of it, his eyes twitching ever slightly. "I see why you came in today, very well, have a… right there will be fine I suppose, I will be charging you a price of seventy poke, a bit higher than I normally would. Since your fur will take a lot of work."

Flocon handed him the money and Scizor stood up straight and cleared his throat. Grabbing a handful of bottles, combs, and buckets of water he began to get to work. He started by soaking Flocon, who whined as his tails drooped, Scizor looked up and asked, "I know you Ninetales can get very defensive over your tails, though I have to clean them out." Flocon looked back and nodded, letting him know that it was fine.

Some time elapsed and Scizor was doing his best to tease out the mattes in Flocon's fur. "You know," he began, "I've never seen a Ninetales quite like you, I'm not talking about your curly fur, I'm talking about how cool to the touch it is, though, maybe I just need to get out more, eh?" he nudged Flocon while chuckling, who returned a confused look.

Frukkshin perked up. "It's strange, isn't it? he's an Ice-type, and from the beating he got from some of those Poison-types," Frukkshin said, choking back a laugh as Flocon shot him an icy glare from across the room. "He may be another type, Fairy-type probably, I don't see him being a Grass-type."

Sylpheed brightened up as she looked over at him. Flocon simply sighed and went back to facing forward with the occasional whimper rising from his maw. His tails hardly moved anymore, it was almost as if they were glued to the ground.

After a few more minutes of tugging at knots and trimming hair. Scizor fanned his wings, drying Flocon off and causing his fur to puff up. "And, done." He announced, pulling a mirror in front of Flocon. "I think you look rather handsome like that."

Flocon had to look twice to make certain he was looking at the right Ninetales. His once matted tangles of fur that stuck close to his skin was replaced by a fluffier and lighter coat, seeming almost lighter in color than it once was. He turned a few times, a smile sliding across his face. His tails swayed gently in the small breeze created by the open windows, Flocon sat down and yawned whilst nodding his head.

Combing a claw through his fur a few times, Sylpheed giggled and whispered, "It's so soft." she patted Flocon's head before stepping back. Flocon didn't seem to mind the motion beyond a grunt and a couple of glances alternating between her and Frukkshin.

Flocon eventually rose to his feet and habitually shook out his fur. "I love it" he expressed to Scizor, his tails giving a few brief wags.

"I suppose Sylpheed was right, you look a lot better with your fur groomed like that." Frukkshin said, whinnying softly.

Flocon stood up and handed the Scizor a tip. He took one last look into the mirror and smiled before heading out with the others.

Repositioning her beret and looking over at Frukkshin, Sylpheed hummed a moment and said, "We really should get Flocon an accessory too."

"He's rather unique on his own, don't you think?" Frukkshin said, glancing down at Flocon who was returning his look with a much dirtier one. Frukkshin's face went blank after a few moments. "And this helmet is not a mere accessory." He exclaimed, staring down Sylpheed.

"Doesn't mean he can't express himself." She exclaimed, batting lightly at Frukkshin, who moved his head out of the way before delivering a soft kick to her chest.

Flocon watched the small exchange of mock blows and could only smile, audibly stifling a chuckle he said, "Very well, Sylpheed, lead the way."

She smiled in response. "I was hoping you'd say that." she said, walking ahead of them. "it's just around the corner."

"Sounds like you go out here a lot."

"Not really."

"Good memory then?"

"Sort of?" Sylpheed said, letting her claws fall to the side. Oblivious to Flocon's unamused glare drilling into the side of her head.

Frukkshin leaned his head over and whispered, "The less you worry about her, the easier you'll sleep at night."

Flocon's eyes went wide, the muscles in his body tensing. "What?" he muttered back. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Just let it go, Flocon."

Flocon waited a moment, pawing idly at the stone sidewalk beneath him, before letting out a long sigh and scurrying back to the others before he lost sight of them.

Sylpheed stopped at a modestly sized store and motioned them inside. The place seemed typical of the part of the city he was in. The only stand-out feature being the cream colored tiles lining the floor that also ran partway up the walls, visible wherever they weren't obscured by various pieces of clothing or mirrors. The store was neatly sectioned into clothing for bipeds, quadrupeds, everything in between and more. With extra rows dedicated to various other types of accessories like bracelets, necklaces, scarves and the like. In the corner sat behind a register was a Simipour whose hair was braided with golden threads woven through it. She waved at them as they came in.

Dazed by the sheer amount of cramped aisles created by the almost obsessively efficient organization. Flocon found it more than a little difficult to find a single point to focus on, biting his lower lip and groaning, his eyes darting in every direction.

Noticing her ally's confusion, Sylpheed lightly tapped him on the shoulder to grab his attention. "Just follow me, this store isn't too difficult to move around," she said, then leaned in to finish with a whisper, "don't knock anything over, Simipour over there looks pretty relaxed, but she has quite the voice when she wants to."

Flocon nodded, letting Sylpheed go ahead of him and following. After a few moments he looked around, noticing that a certain Rapidash wasn't with them. Finally spotting Frukkshin just outside the entrance, he called, "Frukkshin, you coming?"

Frukkshin tilted an ear back and lifted his head. "No, I'm good."

Before returning to the aisles, Flocon gazed at Frukkshin for a few more moments. When he finally did, he found his eyes passing idly over various hats. "Hey, Sylpheed," he said, waiting a moment for Sylpheed to look over at him. "how did you pick out your beret?"

"Oh this thing?" she asked, taking it off and turning it over a few times before setting it back. "It was a gift from a friend, but that's between me and them." her voice didn't change a whole lot as she said it, but there was this odd feeling about it that Flocon couldn't really place his paw on.

Flocon looked her up and down before going back to looking at the hats. He picked up a couple and tried them on in the mirror but found that none of them looked right, and with his flowing hair, none of them really felt right either. Finding themselves at a standstill, they moved over to the bracelets.

Sylpheed picked up a bracelet and, without asking Flocon, put it on one of his tails. The Ninetales yelped and instinctively kicked her the instant she grabbed one. "Oi! Settle down you two." Simipour barked.

"Everything alright in there?" Frukkshin called as he heard the sound of someone falling onto the ground.

"It's fine." Flocon shouted, his voice a bit shaky as he helped Sylpheed up, then continued in a much softer voice, "Sorry about that."

After taking some time to brush off her face and set the bracelet back, she sighed. "I guess I should've seen that coming." she said, brushing off her shirt and readjusting the collar.

Flocon frowned and went back to looking. "There really isn't much - oh…" Flocon said, his voice trailing off as he picked up a shawl. It was short, split down the middle and indigo, with some lighter swirls crossing here and there rising from a solid stripe of aquamarine about an inch thick at the bottom that had some indigo fringes lining it.

Standing in front of a mirror with it on, Flocon struck a few poses, some triumphant, some aggressive, and some that he swore he would never use again for as long as he lived. "That settles it, I'm buying this one." he said contentedly.

A few minutes passed as he completed his transaction. But after all was said and done, Flocon bounded back outside. "Look at, this." Flocon said, striking a pose reminiscent of the heroes in stories. He stood there for a few seconds, waiting to hear something from the Rapidash, eventually he looked over and asked, "...Frukkshin, you there?"

Frukkshin was staring off into the distance, not really reacting to Flocon. "Hm?" He sounded after a few moments. Looking down at the confused looking Ninetales he remarked, "Yes, quite nice."

"Do you feel okay?" Flocon said, tilting his head a little. "I know I haven't known you long, but you seem… distracted."

Glancing back into the store, then at Sylpheed and Flocon respectively. "Don't worry about me." he said as he walked off. "Let's just go home."

Sylpheed nudged Flocon. "Happens to the best of us. I'm just glad I have someone always looking out for me." she said as she began to close the distance between her and Frukkshin.

_Wait… what? _Flocon thought as he trailed closely behind. _Maybe I should take Frukkshin's advice. But… no… maybe? _He shifted his gaze to eye up Sylpheed. _If there's even a chance, I need to take it, right?_

Catching up to Sylpheed, Flocon lightly bumped her. "I need to talk to you, maybe not now, but sometime. And it needs to be private." he whispered.

Sylpheed shook her head. "If I had anything I wanted to tell you, I would've." she said, taking a moment to look at the horizon. "Now come on, it's almost dinnertime. And we need to give Fringe the cut of our earnings and yours as well."

"Right, almost forgot." He said as he broke into a run to catch up with Frukkshin.

Sylpheed watched him as he ran. "There's something in the water, and I don't like it." she said.

* * *

So, this was a bit of a bumpy ride here, but that's what I get for rolling a few chapters into two. Luckily there shouldn't be an issue with this in the future though expect the chapters to start shortening up.

And I already couldn't keep to my upload schedule since I'm updating this one day early due to events in my life. See you all in two weeks (hopefully) for the next chapter.


	4. Chapter 3: Are You With Me?: Part 1

"...alright Ninetales, like that." Ohm said as he watched Flocon skate across the ground of the bog. It has been a day since Flocon had been made a business partner and he was out with Ohm to hone his skills while Bancho watched from a rock in the distance. Flocon was trying to turn his shell of ice into an armor and Ohm had offered his help.

However as he was skating one of his legs slipped out from under him, sending him sliding into a tree not far away and colliding with a loud thunk. Ohm's face twitched a little. "And he was doing so well…" he muttered. "alright, let's try something else for the time being. How about Frost Breath?" he recommended in an attempt to salvage the current situation.

"Frost what?" Flocon replied, his voice stilted and pained from the crash, he stood up only to slip again. _Well, at least the armor didn't shatter this time._ He thought as he let go of his concentration on it, letting it sublimate back into the aether. Part of his body sank into the mud as he fell a few inches.

"Frost Breath, it's a basic, but important move that almost any Ice-type can use. I myself am not an Ice-type, but I can demonstrate how to use Dragon Breath, which as far as I hear, is pretty similar." Ohm said, making sure that Flocon was watching as he braced himself. "Watch what I do, and follow."

"So, brace your back." he instructed. "Now, take a deep breath." he said, watching Flocon as he inhaled deeply. "Let it fill with your essence, then let it out with all your might." Ohm leaned back and fired an impressive stream of purple flame, wreathing the grass in fire as a thick cloud of steam arose at it's touch. Flocon focused and breathed out, but nothing more than a breath comparable to an autumn breeze arose from his attempt.

"Damn it Ninetales!" Ohm shouted, his rage finally snapping. "How hard could that be?" He attempted to strike him but was grabbed by Bancho before he could make a move, though that didn't stop him from raving with anger.

"I'm glad you're here." Flocon said, his voice small.

Bancho nodded. "I am too." he said over Ohm's shouts.

"What are you three doing over here?" came an unamused voice from just behind them.

Ohm ceased his struggling causing Bancho to let go of him Ohm fell to the muddy ground and stood back up after a few seconds before he looked up and said, "Why did you come out this far, Irukan?" He rested a fin on his chin as he continued, "It's not like you're on duty today."

She showed them a letter. "It's addressed to the name of 'Flocon' and Sylpheed told me that it was Ninetales over there." Irukan said, gesturing towards Flocon.

"I thought you didn't have any memories." Bancho stated, looking down at the Ninetales.

Picking up the letter from her fins, Flocon opened it. "I don't." he stated flatly, not thinking about any implications.

"Then why is it addressed to you?"

Flocon paused and looked up in realization, the gears turned in his head for a few moments. "I-I don't know. Sylpheed and Frukkkshin are the only ones who know my name." he eventually sputtered out.

The other three exchanged cautious glances as he stated this. "And you just… opened it?" Ohm asked, his voice quivering.

"Yeah." Flocon said as he slowly brought his head down to read the letter with a slightly nervous expression plastered across his face.

Ohm's hair started to spark. "What sort of idiot are you?" Ohm exclaimed, the outburst causing him to be smacked by Irukan. "Thanks…" he remarked as he rubbed the side of his head, his ears drooping.

Flocon continued reading the note in silence, trying to ignore the shouting to the best of his abilities. "Says here I have a doctor's appointment." he said after a few moments.

Ohm just stared at him blankly as Flocon did his best to tuck the letter back into the envelope without any opposable thumbs. "So, I'll be going later today." he said. Bancho motioned for him to hand over the letter, Flocon gave a huff and dropped it in his paws without protest.

After taking a few moments to watch this interaction, Ohm shouted, "Wait, what!?" getting close to Flocon's face, he continued, "Do you know how suspicious this sounds? It's a trap, there's no way it couldn't be." he was pulled away by Irukan before he had a chance to do much else.

"But what if it isn't?" Flocon protested defensively. "What if whoever sent out this message is the only chance I have at figuring this out?"

The Dragalge that grabbed him released him after he calmed down a bit. Ohm stood for a moment dumbfounded by Flocon's statement. "Ninetales, look at me." he stated. "This entire thing is strange, why would this mysterious benefactor want to help in the first place? And more importantly, why wouldn't they come to you in person? This is completely suspect."

Folding the envelope and slipping it into his coat, Bancho grunted and said, "I think he should go."

Ohm faced him in shock. "You too?" he exclaimed.

"Thanks Pangoro." said Flocon.

"You're not going alone." Bancho told Flocon before facing Ohm. "Our orders are to figure out what happened here. We're going with him."

Ohm sighed and crossed his fins. "I was hoping you wouldn't let him go alone." he said. "This is a trap, but you're right, we have to keep him alive don't we?"

"I'm standing right here." Flocon said, his voice filled with indignation.

"I know." Ohm responded, his voice flat as he stared off into the distance. "We should prepare for a fight, and that means…" he paused for dramatic effect before exclaiming, "...we continue training."

Walking back to where Flocon was. "Well, let's try Frost Breath again..." he said, causing Flocon to give Bancho a worried look.

Bancho turned to Irukan, ignoring the worried Ninetales for the time being. "You might as well head back." he said.

Watching the Ohm and Flocon for a moment longer, Irukan sighed and slithered away. "Be careful you three," she said before she left. "I don't want you getting yourselves killed."

Flocon let out another breath, this time his Frost breath was more powerful, but far from good. Flocon took solace in the thought that a winter breeze is still colder than an autumn one. "Well, you're making progress." Ohm said. "Still, your posture's off, you need to arch your back so it opens up, not down. You need to be able to take the deepest breath possible."

Nodding as he followed his directions once more, Flocon braced his back, opening it up in a "U" shape. Inhaling a much deeper breath of air and focusing on freezing it. Leaning his head back for a moment he let forth a Frost Breath, even stronger than the last to where it was enough to be visible to the naked eye. The breeze covered the area it struck with a thin sheet of ice.

Ohm looked down at the frozen puddle, a little surprised. "Impressive, you're making good progress already and we only just started." he said as he turned towards Flocon. "But you're still much to slow, if this were a fight, you'd have already gone down."

_Just had to shoot me down last minute._ Flocon thought, his ears, head and tails drooping to the floor.

"It's one thing to learn an attack, but there's a difference between knowing something and using it. Well, I think we should get back to working on your Arctic Warrior."

* * *

"This looks like the place." Bancho said as they stood outside a hospital building marked by the blue and red awning above it.

They entered into a small foyer with a hallway either side and a bored Ambipom seated behind a few bars, paperwork flanking him either side. "Hello." he said with the energy of someone who has been working for far too long for far too little.

Only fazed for a moment, Flocon responded, "Good afternoon, I was told I had a doctor's appointment?"

"Name."

"Flocon."

"Septembre?"

"The one and only."

Ambipom stared at him for a few moments before pointing down the left hallway. "Room 109. Doctor Blissey's been expecting you. Now," he said, shifting his eyes to Ohm and Bancho. "who are you two?"

Ohm stared blankly for a few seconds before saying, "Us, why, we're his… family, here to help him through his… therapy." he clearly hadn't thought this far

"What?" Flocon started. "You are n-" he was cut off by a quick shock to one of his tails. "I mean, yes, this is the truth." he corrected as he gave a fake smile.

Ambipom stared at the three of them for a few moments and said, "Room 109." in a voice that indicated that he was far too tired to care anymore. He reached under the desk and handed them a paper through the slits. "Fill this out."

Ohm grabbed it. "Thank you." he said.

"Leave me alone already."

A little stunned by his remark, Ohm took a moment before he began flipping through the papers as they walked. "Let's see here, looks like the usual contract, you know how to sign documents, correct?" he asked as he looked down at Flocon, only to be met by a very menacing glare.

"Oh quit it." Bancho reprimanded, lightly punching Flocon in the head.

Flocon looked up at Bancho then sighed, keeping his eyes forwards.

Ohm muttered, "Well, you'll need to sign just about everywhere." as they were walking a slip of paper fell out of the papers, Ohm picked it up, noticing that rather than being printed like the rest of the documents, it was handwritten. "Let's see… 'We're watching you.'" Ohm said, handing the note to Bancho and swinging his head back to grope the back of his head before grunting. "Well, looks like I was right."

Bancho peered over at him and grabbed the note. "You're not." he said.

"How do you know?"

Bancho tucked the note into his coat. "If it was a trap they wouldn't give you something like that." he said, readjusting his collar.

Flocon alternated glances between the two of them as they spoke. _They know I'm right here… right?_ he thought as he looked down at his paws, then went back to looking forward.

Walking into the waiting area of room 109 the first thing they noticed was that most of the pokemon in the room were of older age. A few of them turned confusedly towards the trio, a couple more casting looks through furrowed brows at Flocon, if any of them had objections to their presence not a single one voiced it.

They sat down, Ohm setting the pad and charcoal in front of Flocon. Flocon fiddled with grabbing the wooden handle on the stick of charcoal and loosely put down a signature with what little leverage he had, using a few symbols that clearly weren't Galetian. Bancho seemed to be watching him closely as he fumbled with the writing instrument, seemingly oblivious to Ohm's prodding throughout the room investigating behind various furniture as he bothered other guests.

Flocon finally finished the final page, clumsily set the charcoal back and hacked a bit, having got some dust into his mouth. He then got up and took the pad over to a moderately amused Chimecho who lifted it out of his maw with Psychic. "I'll be sure to hand this off to the right people, all you have to do is wait." she said, floating it off to an Audino in the back of the room.

Flocon sat back into the chair he was given and began to wriggle around, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Without turning to face him, Bancho asked, "Having issues?" though for someone like him, it was far more of a statement than anything.

With as little movement as possible, Flocon responded, "A couple, but none in particular."

Bancho turned back around with a grunt. "Then don't act like that." he said in a gruff voice.

Peering up at him, Flocon took a moment before he asked, "What?"

"That." Bancho motioned towards Flocon's seat. "You're making yourself seem a coward. Soon enough, you'll believe it to be true."

Flocon went back to looking forward. He eventually pushed himself out of his hidden position to sit at his full height. "I don't see how this'll help, but okay." he said in earnest.

After readjusting himself a bit to cross his legs, Bancho told him "You will, not today, but you will."

Taking only a few moments to stare up at Bancho, Flocon sighed and looked around the room noticing that most of the elderly had gone back to their books or kin. Flocon stared at a group consisting of an old Aggron and his presumed son, also an Aggron by this point. He watched as they shared a conversation, muffled by the distance between them, he set himself back against the chair and took a moment to think, _I wonder… How do pokemon look at me? What do they really think?_ He found himself enthralled by their interaction, the way the two of them would laugh after a short dialogue. Flocon found himself feeling oddly incomplete, he let out a long sigh and peeled his eyes away from the two as he faced forwards once more.

Flocon was stirred by a light jab from Bancho. "You're doing it again." he said, referring to how Flocon was slinking down again.

Looking down at his seat he gave a slight huff and straightened up again. Flocon opened his mouth as if to say something but shut it after a few seconds.

Ohm sat back down near them. "I didn't see anything, but that doesn't mean there aren't any spies." he said.

"How about you settle down?" Bancho told him.

His hair sparked a little, Ohm's face twitched, before it settled back down. "Look, I just… fine." he said, rubbing his forehead.

"Flocon? Flocon Septembre?" a familiar Audino called from across the room.

Flocon managed to get out of his chair with some difficulty and walked over to her. "That's me."

"Follow me." she said in a reserved voice as she looked up at the other two. "I presume the Ampharos and Pangoro are with you?"

Flocon nodded. "They're going to come with me into the room." he said.

Audino took a moment to think. "I suppose there's nothing in the rules against it, I'll show you to the room."

As Audino guided the three through the dim hallway. The strong scent of alcohol permeated the narrow halls, a scent that was thinly veiled by some astringent citrus that nauseated the Ninetales. The floor itself was cement, perfectly matching the walls which had the dignity to at least be painted in an off-white color akin to cream.

"Right here," Audino said, opening a door and motioning the three in. "Doctor Blissey will be with you in a minute. Just climb up onto the table in the meantime Ninetales." she said as she left the room.

Flocon jumped up onto the oaken table, almost slipping off of the surface smoothed by hundreds of other patients. Taking more than one attempt to finally settle down.

Both Ohm and Bancho took a seat at one of the three chairs, both wooden and of fair craftsmanship. Ohm shifted a few times in an attempt to get his tail settled, before getting up and moving the chair away from the wall. "You know, Ninetales, I have issues with only one tail, I can only imagine what the struggle would be like if I had nine of them." he said, sounding somewhere between condescending and genuine. Ohm took the time to look around the room before being lightly tapped by Bancho.

A few minutes of silence passed by before the door opened once more, this time it was a Blissey plainly dressed in the white clothes. The garb was expected for a doctor in Galet: a shirt that covered the arms and legs and a cloth covering the top of the head. "So, you are…" his voice trailed off, it was unprofessional and casual as if they were already acquainted with one another. He pulled out a pad and read it aloud, "Flocon… correct?"

Flocon nodded his head. "Yeah, that's me." he said. "You must be Blissey."

"Doctor Blissey, Ninetales, I didn't go into twelve years of schooling for nothing." he said, his voice just a tad defensive. "But I'm not here to have an argument, I'm here to…" his voice trailed off as he flipped through the notepad. "determine if you have dementia and give a general check-up." said Blissey, pausing in thought, "I believe we should start with determining just how bad your dementia is."

Flocon nodded. _He's saying all this like I should know what it means._ He thought as he did his best to fake a smile.

"Very well, the test is rather simple. And I expect honest answers…" Blissey said, pausing for a moment to look up at something before clearing his throat. "…as I was saying, I've read the initial report on you. But I'd to hear what happened that day-"

"There!" Ohm shouted, springing to his feet and swinging a cabinet wide open, the rest was a blur as a flurry of feathers blasted the room, Ohm was stunned as the petit figure of a Taillow shot past his head.

The tiny bird barreled through the room at blinding speeds, Bancho ventured to intercept it, but failed, crashing into the door. Ohm vaulted over him into the halls, not sparing even a moment to help his fellow up, but from the looks of it, it didn't take long.

Flocon began to stir from his position but Bancho shouted at him, "Stay here Ninetales, we won't be long." Before barrelling out of the room after Ohm.

Sprinting to Ohm's side, Bancho matched pace with him. "Damnit Ohm, how obvious can you be?" he questioned with visible anger.

Ohm huffed and said, "This isn't the time for this Bancho, we'll be fine, all we have to do is catch that bird. Easy."

"To say, yeah, doing is something entirely different." Bancho said as the two stormed into the waiting room filled with elderly pokemon, panicked by the flailing Taillow zipping through the air.

Ohm's tail began to spark as he elevated his fins and clapped them together, an erratic pulse surrounding them, but his movements were arrested by Bancho. "We can't risk that here." he scolded.

Loosing a sigh, Ohm acquiesced, "Then how about this?" He rushed forward and wheeled his fins around and created a thin sheet of electricity between them. A moment passed and the solid sheet of static ripped, coiling around his fins like blades. _All I have to do is use a controlled shock to take them out._ He thought to himself as he began to observe the movements of his opponent closely.

"Ohm, we need to minimize our damage." Bancho called as he steadied an old Lucario. "You catch them, I'll clear the room."

Giving the Pangoro a nod before turning back to his opponent. Ohm saw they had undertaken an attempt to open a door of substantial weight, presumably trying to escape. Ohm sneered and launched forwards, his hair sparking with fury. "You're not getting away!" he exclaimed as he jumped towards the tiny bird, who used her size to maneuver out of the way and managed a fly by attack to Peck Ohm in the ribs.

Ohm watched her move once more and smiled almost meanly. "Even I have to admit, there is some fun in the chase." his voice had gone from his once scholarly and professional one to a more boisterous and charged one, excitement spelt across every inch of his body as he pursued Taillow across the room.

Bancho had been clearing out the Aggron from earlier when Taillow launched past him once more, the Aggron in their golden years was sent crumbling to the ground by the sudden pass. But before he had even a chance to touch the floor a loud voice boomed from across the room, "Nobody messes with my father and gets away with it!" an Aggron, much younger, but still getting on in years charged the Taillow. She managed to barely eek past him as he flew by but the draft was a different beast entirely as it sent her tumbling to the floor. The Aggron tried to stop himself but couldn't as he tumbled over a row of chairs and into a table, splintering it entirely.

Ohm saw a chance and took it as he ran forwards and jumped over the massive Steel-type, managing to graze Taillow with a blade. Taillow was not only sent flying by this, but she also had her feathers singed by the oscillating pulses surrounding Ohm's fins.

He watched her for a moment. After seeing little movement he dispelled his blades as the static rose up his fins and into his body once more. But the moment he got close to her she leapt to her talons and flew into Ohm with a Wing Attack, smashing into him and drawing a bloody line across his face. The sudden attack dazed him momentarily as she shot past him, aiming for the door. Bancho dropped what he was doing and blocked her exit with Protect as a green barrier surrounded the door.

Taillow tried her best to stop herself but it was too late and she smashed headlong into the barrier, cracking her beak and destroying any momentum she had. Ohm dashed over and grabbed her by the talons as she fell, suspending her at a fin's length as she tried to weakly flail out of his grip.

Bancho waited a moment before dropping the shield and quickly regaining his cool exterior. "Let's get back and decide what to do with her later." he said with a grunt.

Ohm wiped the blood off his face with his free fin. "You go ahead, we can't have her listening in." he said between huffs as he looked around. "I'll get this place cleaned up a bit while I'm at it."

Bancho shrugged and walked back but a loud crash echoing throughout the hallway, not dissimilar to glass prompted him to break into a run.

The first thing he noticed about the room was the door off its hinges. The second thing was the room itself, the cold temperature, and the destroyed cabinets. Flocon was shaking where he stood, visibly struggling to even stand, his body criss-crossed in oozing lacerations. Blissey was sent against a wall and an unknown Gengar with a chunk of his leg torn out was splayed across the ground.

Flocon turned his head weakly, ectoplasm dripping from his mouth, blood leaking from his face. "Do I have a story for you." he said as he crumpled to the ground and passed out.

* * *

Hey I finally uploaded something on time for once!

Either way, this is probably going to be the average chapter length from here on out as I normally write chapters to be "bite-sized" as it were, but it's also why I can upload once every two weeks versus once a month.


	5. Chapter 4: Are You With Me?: Part 2

Bancho bolted to his feet as Ninetales began to stir, "Stay here Ninetales, we won't be long." he shouted back as he dashed out the door after Taillow.

Blissey rubbed his head as he got back to his feet. "Well, that was quite the surprise." he said as he took some time to glance around the room, now covered in feathers. Noticing a broken flask of water on the ground and mumbling something under his breath, he turned back to face Flocon. "Where was I? Ah yes, what I'm going to do is ask you a set of questions and determine whether you're demented or not. Answer them to the best of your ability, Ninetales."

Flocon sighed as he gazed for a few long moments at the closed door. "Sure." he said flatly before turning back to Blissey.

As Blissey sat down in his chair, his shadow shifted over a bit. "Now then. What is the last thing you remember before the accident?"

A sound of disgust escaped Flocon's maw as he heard that. "How many times do I need to tell you people, I don't remember anything about the accident." he said with a growl, ears pinning to the back of his head.

Blissey looked at him curiously. "I understand that," he said as he adjusted himself to clarify, "but I'm asking about things prior to the accident."

Blinking a few times in surprise. "Oh." Flocon sounded. "Well, the last thing I remember is…" Flocon's voice trailed off as he thought about it. "There was… shouting. And there was… a… pokemon, they had these wings, black wings—er maybe they were purple…? then things start to blur around there." Flocon paused frequently as he continued. "Then a bright flash of light. A couple even. Then it all fades to black."

Taking a few moments to jot down notes on the pad, Blissey made a few more inquiries, "Anything else you can tell me about this pokemon?"

His eyes furrowed as he strained to think of any more details. Flocon opened his mouth to speak but he was hammered back by a splitting headache. Flocon sputtered out a few words, "I… sorry? It… hurts…" Before falling forwards. His eyes seemed to dull in color as whimpers of pain escaped his maw.

Blissey got up to approach the fallen Ninetales but as he got close Flocon's face went blank any sign of pain was wiped clean from his visage. Without getting up he muttered, "It's a simple job really." Flocon's voice changed, it was deeper, colder. "I don't think we'll have any issues."

Blissey got up to investigate, Flocon didn't seem to react. The doctor nervously waved a hand in front of his face but yet again, the Ninetales completely ignored him as he continued to speak, "Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. If things go wrong, at least you'll be safe." his estranged voice gained some sort of affectionate tone to it.

Nervously reaching over to the Ninetales, Blissey lightly tapped one of his ears. This snapped him out of his trance as he yelped at Blissey and leapt back, almost falling off the table, the empty expression dissolving into a far more panicked one. "What was that?" Blissey questioned.

"I could ask you the same question." Flocon's voice returned to its normal—now indignant—tone as he looked around foreginly.

Blissey paused in disbelief and jotted down another note. "Try and think of anything more. Does anything else come to mind?" his voice was shaking with a mixture of excitement and trepidation as he said this.

Flocon stared blankly for a few moments. "Anything more?" he said. _I don't remember saying anything._ He thought suspiciously. "No, not really."

"A shame, really." Blissey said.

Flocon eyed Blissey's shadow as it shifted once more. _That's the second time it's happened._ He glanced up at the kerosene lantern suspended from the ceiling. _Something isn't right, but what's going on?_ Flocon thought before looking back at Blissey.

Blissey's face seemed to read blatant satisfaction with… something. Something that Flocon couldn't quite put his paw on. But Blissey continued his questioning without a second thought afterwards, "So, what's th-"

"I know." Flocon said as he stared down Blissey intensely. _What are you thinking?!_ He internally shouted at himself. It felt odd to be saying something like that, but he didn't know why.

Blissey flinched at the determination in his words. "W-what? What do you know?" he said in a mixture of shock and curiosity.

"You're awfully personal for a doctor, you know that?" Flocon continued. _Okay, let's consider this for a moment Flocon._ He thought to himself. _If he really is a spy? What do you do then?_ his tails began to shiver nervously, it felt like something was telling him that he couldn't trust Blissey, and he believed it. He knew something that he didn't.

Blissey stood up and said incredulously, "That's hardly proof of anything."

_You're right, it isn't. _he continued thinking. _Why can't I stop myself?_ it occurred to him that his thoughts were right, but he couldn't stop himself for some reason. "Yet you don't seem to be denying the possibility." But Flocon knew that it wasn't his own thought.

Blissey stood for a moment. "Then I guess there's no use then." Blissey's voice seemed to overlap with itself as he fell to the ground. A Gengar lunged out of the darkness using a Shadow Claw to slash across Flocon's cheek before leaping back. Whatever it was, Flocon lost the train of thought.

Flocon tried to counter attack with a Tackle but as he did so he slammed into a barrier of some kind. Flocon backed up, the Gengar crossed his arms and chuckled. _Okay, so he was a threat._ Flocon mentally confirmed as he looked up. _But he's not making an attempt to fight?_ Flocon circled for a few moments before he fired off a Powder Snow only for it to harmlessly bounce off.

Gengar chuckled at the Ninetales' futile efforts and prepared a Shadow Ball. _Wait, what? Powder Snow isn't that strong a move, but how and why did it just bounce off like that?_ He thought as he chilled the air around him. _It looks like I'll have to take a bit more of a drastic measure here._ He thought as he leaped out of the way of the Shadow Ball. The air coalesced around him, cloaking himself in his Arctic Warrior.

However, Gengar only seemed amused by this change of pace. "Do you really think that can help you?" he taunted as a small portal opened up behind Flocon. From the portal a fist came flying out and planted itself directly into his back, sending the Ninetales straight to the ground.

Flocon managed to find his footing with ease, the Arctic Warrior absorbing most of the landing. _But it didn't do a thing to stop that punch._ Flocon thought to himself as he looked back up at the laughing Gengar.

Slowly strafing around his opponent, Flocon tried to find a crack in whatever defense Gengar had. The Ninetales stopped for just a moment and began to chill the air around him, Gengar spread his arms. "Go ahead," he scoffed. "When you fire that, you'll be wide open." Gengar laughed as he began to prepare a Shadow Ball once more.

Flocon smirked weakly, the air around his mouth pulsing as he sent out a Powder Snow and lunged forward. As he did so, Gengar fired off a Shadow Ball. And Flocon countered with his own Aurora Beam, the fast moving blast of light collided with the grim projectile. What followed was a small explosion of energy that blasted Gengar a few feet away and onto his back, Flocon stunned momentarily by the small shock wave as it peeled his wounds back.

Blissey was shaken awake by the blast and began to climb to his feet. "What's happening here?" he demanded in a pained voice.

Flocon glanced over at him and said, "This Gengar was possessing you and now he's attacking."

By the time Flocon had finished talking Gengar was already back on his feet and lunging forward with another Shadow Claw. Flocon made an attempt to dodge but he was far too late, the attack cut deep across his sides. Cold blood spilled from his wounds and he completely lost his concentration, his Arctic Warrior sublimated into the air from which it came, letting him slam helplessly on the ground.

Watching this happen, Blissey huffed and formed an egg-shaped ball in his hands and threw it like a football. "Wait, no!" Flocon exclaimed. But he was too late as the projectile bounced off the shield and exploded, blasting the door open, sending both Flocon and Blissey against a wall and filling the room with dust.

Looking upwards from his position on the ground Flocon saw something revealed by the settling of the dust: Gengar didn't have one continuous shield up but multiple, overlapping, plates of energy. Flocon eyed a cabinet on the other side of the room, the one that Taillow flew out of. It was barely hanging onto its hinges after the blast. Flocon stood back up on injured legs, blood flowing from his face. The dust was still falling when Flocon took his chance and ran towards Gengar.

Gengar took notice of this and shot a Shadow Ball but Flocon jumped out of the way. And just as Gengar thought he was going to fall for it twice, Flocon twisted his body mid-air, the punch just scraping his fur. However, this maneuver made Flocon lose what little control he had in the first place as he tackled the cabinet. The room was spinning as he yanked it off the wall and threw it in Gengar's general direction.

Flasks of water and alcohol landed onto and around Gengar's shield. The room was filled with the sounds of shattering clay as Gengar was covered in a mixture of fluids. By the time Gengar had recovered, Flocon had already braced his back and taken a deep breath.

Gengar twitched and fired a Shadow Ball once more. But Flocon refused to move as he let out a Frost Breath, the cold stream flowing past the shadowy attack and freezing everything it touched in a thick sheet of ice, the plates, Gengar, and the floor were covered.

Flocon took the Shadow Ball head-on, the attack slamming into his face with a small explosion, sending him flat against the wall once more. Opening fresh wounds on his face and rending the other one. The original pain was dampened by adrenaline flowing through his veins, but this new searing torture on his face broke through and he yelled out. His tails quivered furiously as he prepared to dash. Gengar laughed as he floated out of his frozen prison, leaving a hollow Gengar shape on the inside of it. Gengar started a taunt but he could hardly get a word out as Flocon in a blind, adrenaline-induced, panic lunged forwards and snapped down on Gengar's leg.

Gengar cried out in pain, as Flocon swung him back into the ice sculpture, shattering it and concussing the pokemon on the receiving end. The Ninetales flailed him around, smashing him against the ground before throwing him into the collapsed cabinet with a loud crash. Taking a chunk of… something out of his leg in the process.

Flocon relaxed as his injuries caught up to him, the blood loss he was experiencing, the icy cold feeling inside him, it was all too great for him to continue.

Weakly turning around to the sound of running footsteps, Flocon saw Bancho through his bleary vision. "Do I have a story for you." he said as his vision faded out and he crumpled to the ground.

* * *

Flocon weakly opened his eyes. Looking around the room, he noticed that it seemed perfectly fine. "Was that… a dream? Where am I?" he said between painful coughs.

Turning his head, he saw Blissey and Bancho. "I'm glad to see you're awake." Blissey remarked. "It seems I haven't lost my touch just yet."

Starting to stand from his position, Flocon noted that most of his wounds had healed but moving around in any capacity sent a sharp pain down his nerves. "Wait, how long has it been?" he asked as he let himself fall back onto the table.

"Not long." Bancho told him as he sat down in a chair.

Blissey nodded. "I'm very well-versed in healing and first aid, it appears that you still have a lot of recovering to do and may leave you with a few scars, but you'll be fine for the time being."

"Well, what now?" Flocon asked.

Pulling out a pad, Blissey flipped through the pages oblivious to Bancho looking over at it. "I suppose we still have to do your dementia report. You answered one question on it, now you just need to answer the others."

Looking back towards the ceiling, Flocon didn't give any objections.

"Very well, can you tell me your name, the one you used before the accident?"

Flocon didn't look back down, the only response he gave was a shake of his head.

"Do you know when you were born?"

Flocon shook his head once more.

"Where did you live before this?"

Once again, a negative response.

"What city are you in now?"

"Oh, I know this one… Gal… Galley?" Flocon looked at the two of them

Blissey scribbled something down before continuing, "What city did you live in before the accident?"

Flocon furrowed his brow and after a few minutes, shook his head.

"Seeing as you admitted yourself, this next question is unnecessary, these next three in fact." Blissey murmured before continuing. "So, what is the first thing you remember after the incident?"

"I woke up next to pools of blood." said Flocon

"Can you give me any details?"

"Well, I was mangled, barely breathing and I think someone picked me up and took me somewhere."

"That was the police questioning you I assume." Blissey remarked as he wrote something down, "Let's see, already went over that. What day of the week was the incident?"

"It was… cinqi?"

"Alright, what day of the sect was it?"

"Septieme… quinze."

"What is the sect now?"

"Huitieme."

Blissey was taken aback, and wrote something down and corrected something else. "And the last question, what year is it?"

Flocon went quiet as he tried to think. "It's 17… 93." he said slowly.

Blissey wrote down a few things before holding up the pad. "It appears your final score was… 49. Well, looks like he really is an amnesiac, and a pretty bad one at that."

Bancho rested his chin on his hand. "That's it?" he said.

Blissey nodded. "That's all there is to it, he's mentally impaired to the point of amnesia. The test is accurate." he told him matter-of-factly. "Now then, I'm to perform a physical examination of him. I'll call you back when it's over."

Rising from his chair, Bancho half-turned back to Flocon before leaving. "Ninetales, how did Gengar possess Blissey?"

Flocon looked up. "He jumped from his shadow, bastard nearly killed me then and there." he said with some disgust

Bancho shut the door behind him as he heard muffled conversation between the two of them through the oaken door, he looked down the hall where Gengar and Taillow were being taken away for questioning and walked the other way to catch up with Ohm.

Ohm was waiting just behind a corner for him. "Well," he began. "How did it go?"

"Ninetales is stable. Dementia." Bancho said as he leaned beside him.

Crossing his fins and puffing, Ohm said, "Glad to hear something went well, I didn't get shit from Taillow…" as he said this, his voice trailed off. "Wait, remember when you said this wasn't a trap? It was."

Bancho leaned back. "Not in the way you were thinking."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Ohm's voice was flat and unamused.

"Taillow and Gengar were decoys, Blissey's the spy." he said flatly.

Ohm flinched in a mix of surprise and shock. Bancho accused someone so suddenly and almost without any evidence, at least any that Ohm could see. Once he recovered he turned to face Bancho "Okay, let's assume you're right-"

"-I am-"

"-For argument's sake," Ohm's hair started to spark but he shook it off and waved his fins a few times before continuing, "if Blissey is the spy, what led you to that conclusion."

Bancho stood up. "Going over all the evidence, it's obvious. Blissey acknowledged Taillow's presence and did nothing, as the Galetian Oath of Doctoral Ethics roughly states, 'If there is a suspected Pokemon or Pokemons in the area that could be listening without consent of the patient on the dialogue between the doctor and patient, the doctor must then postpone the appointment to another time.' Blissey did not follow this code. Secondly, Blissey's attitude, it isn't like that of a doctor, doctor's are explicitly told to keep an air of professionalism around their patients, Blissey did not act in that manner. And finally, the possession, Gengar was said by Flocon to come out of Blissey's shadow, a common misconception, possession comes from a grasp on the body, following comes from a grasp of the shadow, yet Blissey claimed he was possessed, it's simple." he finished as he let out a long sigh.

Ohm muttered something before saying, "So, what do we do about it?"

Bancho sighed and leaned against the wall once more. "Can't do much. All the information he'd want. He already has." he said.

Ohm leaned back against the wall and uttered one word before he went quiet, "Shit." Bancho nodded in agreement and the two waited for the door to open once again.

* * *

Blissey watched as Bancho carried Flocon out of the room. "Sorry about him." Ohm called back.

Blissey laughed as he rubbed the wound on his hand. "Don't worry, that's not the first time I've been bitten by a patient and it'll hardly be the last." he told them.

"No man should ever stick their fingers where you've stuck yours." Flocon exclaimed, tears running down his face. He wanted to give Blissey a dagger-like glare, but all he could manage was limply staring at the floor as he just let it all out.

"Shut up." Bancho reprimanded Flocon, shaking him around a bit as the door closed.

A few minutes of silence passed in the room before a new voice was heard. "So, Ditto." Blissey turned to see a Malamar walk out of the corner of the room holding the limp body of a Blissey. He was garbed in a form fitting cropped vest with hypnotic patterns of black and purple laced across the dark blue surface. His voice was smooth and dark, like a fresh pot of coffee and just as bitter.

Blissey reformed into the Ditto that he was. Watching as Malamar let go of the real version as he stilted towards him. "You have your information, the Stray Cats will expect payment soon." Ditto said.

"Very well," he said as he eyed up Ditto before saying, "however… you did a sloppy job." As Malamar talked, his beak wrenched into a sinister grin as he appeared to draw himself upwards.

Ditto backed up from the Malamar who was either very angry or very amused. "What do you mean? They didn't suspect a thing." he remarked incredulously.

"My scrying tells me otherwise." he said coldly, the intonations in his voice were formulaic, descriptive, almost detached from reality. "The Pangoro suspects you and soon they will all know."

"But my job is done here, right?" he said as he tried to shrink himself from the eye of Malamar.

He eyed him harshly. "Out of my sight, cretin." Malamar said flatly, staring down the Ditto with an unmatched intensity. If a look could kill, the Ditto would likely be six feet under the ground by now.

Wasting no time in escaping whatever this pokemon might do if he stayed, Ditto slipped out through the window.

Malamar observed his descent with a watchful eye. "So, this is how it ends." his voice was little more than a slow mumble as he scryed upon Flocon through a psychic tear. "Amnesiac or not, if my theory is correct, then this Flocon is far too dangerous to let live."

He pivoted back to the unconscious Blissey and remarked, "You'd do well to forget that this happened." he reared up and flashed a few lights in front of Blissey's face. Malamar watched him closely for a moment. "That should do."

Malamar leaned out the room and saw that the police were now questioning bystanders, one of which was a disgruntled Aggron. He let loose a slow laugh, "Keh-heh-heh." as he leaned in and slipped through the bars in the window, using his psychic powers to break his fall.

His tentacles flicked in thought as he dusted himself off, his brow furrowed as he pulled out a sheet of paper and mumbled under his breath, "Looks like we have a new job on our hands…" he folded up the paper neatly and tucked it back into his vest before walking off, disappearing into the shadows.


	6. Chapter 5: Slow Dancer

This upload is a little late, but homework has to come first, and on that note, next upload might be a week late since I have midterms coming up soon and I'd rather spend my break with family.

* * *

"So, Irukan…" Sylpheed began as she looked up from across the cement table.

Irukan ignored her, staring distantly off into space as she idly chewed on her food, an almost soup-like mixture of milk and vegetables mixed into it.

Sylpheed shrank back in her chair, seemingly deflated as she poked her food around her plate, much more of a stir-fry composed of vegetables and mushrooms.

Finally snapping back into reality after a few minutes, Irukan noticed the Lurantis' odd position. "Sylpheed, is something the matter?" she spoke to her in an almost motherly voice.

It took Sylpheed a few moments to react. But when she did she jerked herself back up. "Yes—well, not 'yes' but…" Sylpheed stammered her words out before getting to what she wanted to say, "I just wanted to ask. Do you think those three'll be okay?"

"Hm?" Irukan voiced. "I trust Ohm and Bancho." she looked off as she said this before moving back to her bowl. "It's that Ninetales that I'm worried about." her voice has a soft edge to it, she was suspicious of that Flocon, but she wasn't about to outwardly accuse him.

"Flocon? I don't see why he isn't. Soma even told me that she thinks he's… in-noc-ent? In-no-cent? Yeah, that's right. I think." Sylpheed leaned over in deep thought as she talked, almost falling face first into her food as she temporarily lost her balance.

Irukan pointed her spoon at her. "You're much too quick to trust others, Sylpheed." there wasn't any maliciousness in her voice, but it still had a harsh edge to it. "Ninetales could be a criminal for all we know. He may even be deceiving us, he was the only witness to the crime. Who's to say he didn't commit it? Who's to say he's an amnesiac to begin with? Sure there's a psychiatric evaluation but if he's a cunning psychopath then he probably knows how to bypass it and make himself look innocent!" she shouted, jumped up from her seat and slammed a fin down onto the table. causing Sylpheed to jump back with an almost horrified look. Irukan saw this, she looked up and saw all the looks the other customers were giving her. She softened her expression. "Sorry." she said as she sat back down with a defeated look.

Sylpheed sighed. "Well… Why would he… I don't know, but… I believe him. And… and even if he did a bad thing, maybe he's okay now." She looked up at Irukan, hopefulness in her eyes at her own statement, it almost looked like she was in some type of denial.

Irukan could only sigh. "The world doesn't work like that…" she looked down at her meal as she wiped her eyes before she continued. "If he commited a crime, then he has to face punishment for it, whether he remembers it or not is entirely irrelevant."

Sylpheed looked down solemnly at her meal. Irukan looked up and took quick notice of this. "Perhaps we should go for a walk one of these days." she said, trying to change the trajectory of the conversation.

"Yeah." Sylpheed smiled bitterly, as she took another bite out of her meal. "That sounds like it would be nice."

Irukan paused for a moment before smiling over at Sylpheed, who looked up at her with some confusion before going back to eating. _Ohm doesn't have a high opinion of her… neither does Frukkshin, I just hope that Ninetales won't listen to them._ She thought as she went back to eating.

It was a few minutes before Sylpheed looked up once again to speak. "Irukan?"

Irukan paused her meal to ask, "Yes?"

"What if Flocon's a bad guy, like you said?" she asked.

The Dragalge froze for a moment as she reached up and pulled on a kelp-like strand with a fin. "Then he'll have to deal with the consequences." she told her. A few moments of silence passed before she continued. "I want to think he's innocent, I really do, but it's far too early to say anything. But I know one thing…" her voice trailed off. "If he's a murderer, well… I won't give him the chance to regret his choices." she said with a harsh edge to her voice.

Sylpheed shook her head. "It won't come to that." she said matter-of-factly.

Irukan sat back and gave the Lurantis a worried smile before going back to her meal. _Is it wrong for me to bring her down? Tell her she's wrong?_ she thought to herself. _Ohm would say that I have to, but…_ A small frown crossed her face as she finished her food. _I just can't._

A long pause was held in their conversation as Sylpheed finished eating. But once she was finished, the two paid and left the quaint establishment.

Irukan peered around and above them and said, "Looks like it'll rain soon." The skies above them were a sheet of gray, tucking in the sun behind them as its rays struggled to get through. "We should head back while we can."

Sylpheed shrugged. "Rain isn't a bad thing…" her voice trailed off as a look of slight confusion came over her. "In fact, you more than anyone else should like the rain, being a Dragalge and all that."

Letting out a soft laugh, she told her, "I'm just not in the mood, Sylpheed." Irukan let a sad smile pass across her face. "Maybe tomorrow, yeah? We can go for a walk."

"Sounds good to me." Sylpheed replied in a happy voice.

* * *

Returning once more to their makeshift base of operations they were met by the sounds of hammering echoing throughout the room. The source of the noise that was Fringe called over to them, "You two are home early." He set his tools aside and temporarily ceased his work on the broken table as he got to his feet and dusted himself off.

Irukan nodded. "Quite." she said as she looked around for a sign of anyone else.

"Was Frukkshin with you?" Fringe asked as he rocked the table back and forth to see if it would hold. To his dismay it wobbled a bit, causing him to give a small frown.

Irukan perked up. "No, I thought he would be here with you." she said with some slight confusion.

Fringe let out a long sigh before going back to working on the table. "I certainly wish he was." he said as he started putting another nail in the leg before looking back up. "Sylpheed there was… Sylpheed?" He looked around in confusion, noting that Sylpheed must have left at some point in their conversation. "Well then, Irukan, If you see him, could you hand him this?" he said as he pulled out an envelope from his shirt.

Irukan picked it up and examined it before tucking it into her scarf. "I don't see why not." she said. "I will leave in just a moment or two."

Drawing herself up once more, Irukan slithered over to the infirmary. "I knew you'd be in here." she said as she watched Sylpheed, crouched over and taking inventory of all the medications.

Sylpheed looked up from what she was doing and gave a friendly smile and a nod. "I like this place to be clean and neat." she said as she went back to taking inventory.

Laughing ever so slightly, Irukan responded, "Clean room, clean mind I guess. Very well, I'll leave you to it—I have a Rapidash to find…" she said before tacking on, "surprise, surprise, huh."

Sylpheed gave her a small wave as she slithered out, Irukan returning the sentiment with a short nod.

Looking back once again, Irukan returned to the outside.

Slithering onto the cobblestone sidewalks of Galet once again, Irukan eyed the skies once more. _You couldn't have picked a worse day, could you?_ She thought to herself as a gentle drizzle began to fill the space between the buildings, Irukan grunted as she wiped the side of her face.

Looking up and down the street a few times, _If I were Frukkshin, where would I be?_ She thought as she began to drift away from the base. _Maybe he's just with Ohm, bancho and that Ninetales… Flocon, was it?._

She tried to remember where they were going, _A hospital, yeah?_ She thought. _A geriatrich one in particular…_ She looked up and chuckled ever slightly at the irony of bringing a young adult to a clinic like that. _Then it has to be the one between Dunning and Stream._ Looking around once more, she realized that it was going to be a long walk.

Loosing a sigh, she began her journey to the hospital, passing by shops and housing. Luckily she knew her way around the city well enough that by using the many alleys she made it so that her travelling time wasn't nearly as long as it normally would be until she found herself at her destination.

She scanned the front of the building. _Seems normal._ She thought to herself as she traced over the yellowish stucco. _My options are to wait, but I don't know how viable that is. Or I can see if I can find the room Ninetales is in. Then I can find Ohm and Bancho, who can point me to Frukkshin._ She peered around to see if anyone was looking in her direction before slipping into an alley.

The shadows that spread between the alleys were dimly lit at this time of day, revealing to Irukan a slight tinge of red in the darkness. She got a touch closer to it, enough to see that whatever that tinge of color was, it was moving. She panicked for a moment but soon calmed down as she focused on it. She heard the rustling of paper and the gentle murmuring of a masculine voice. It seemed odd and strangely familiar. Irukan started to sneak closer but as it folded the slip back up she caught the glint of something, something metallic, like the edge of a knife. That split second revealed to her a face she could never forget, her heart sank as she saw him. _It can't be. They're involved?_ Irukan's mouth went dry. _Ninetales… What the fuck did you do?_

She saw him move. The glint came back and they locked gazes, they were both frozen in time at that moment. The Malamar began to saunter forwards but by the time he had even processed what he had seen, Irukan had fled. He looked out into the streets and saw that he had lost her. "Was that…?" he pondered for a moment before slowly retreating back into the shadows and left the scene soon after.

She was hidden in a different alleyway, seated on a vantage point where she could see almost all entrances to the backstreet. _I'll wait for them, it's safer that way._ With that thought,she did exactly that, only moving to where she could see the entrance a few moments later, simply hoping that she hadn't accidentally missed them.

A few minutes passed before the figures of Ohm and Bancho made themselves apparent after a while. She looked at them for a while before she saw the slumped figure of Flocon being carried by Bancho.

She sighed in relief as she went up to them, all the while thinking, _Do I tell them?... No, it has to be a coincidence…_ She let out a breath as she spoke to them, "Bancho, Ohm… Ninetales?" She seemed somewhat confused by the expression on Flocon's face, it looked as if he had been crying for a while now.

Flocon peered up. "Hey Dragalge." he said, defeat crushing his voice into a fine dust.

Irukan eyed him foreignly as Bancho and Ohm turned around. Flocon found himself facing the other way through no fault of his own. "Might I ask why you're carrying him?" she asked.

"Bit the doctor." Bancho remarked tersely as Flocon let out a breathy growl, his tails starting to sway a little.

"I see…" her voice trailed off as she recollected herself. "But that's not why I'm here, have any of you seen Frukkshin?"

Ohm perked up. "He's not at base?" he asked.

Irukan shook her head. "I thought you could point me in his direction." she said.

Ohm grunted as his tail light began to dimly glow. "Well, have you checked any of the shops? He might be out." he brushed his hair back as he muttered. "But he would've told Fringe, wouldn't he?"

Irukan nodded as she responded, "I was thinking the very same thing."

Bancho spoke up, "The bar."

Ohm looked up at him. "And what tells you that?" he asked in an attempt to get the Pangoro to elaborate.

"I wouldn't tell anyone." he said shortly.

Ohm tersely remarked, "You never tell anyone anything to begin with." He turned back towards Irukan and shrugged.

Irukan mulled it over for a few moments before replying, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check. Might even grab myself something while I'm there."

Bancho huffed a bit. "Don't go getting too drunk." he said as he turned and walked off.

Irukan stood still for a moment. _Was that a joke or was he being serious?_ She thought as she stared squintedly at his receding figure. _Not important, I'll just focus on finding that stupid Rapidash._ She smiled a little and began to slither around.

It took a while, but she finally found what she was looking for. The place was a bit shoddy and reeked of alcohol, vomit and blood. Though here, they just call that the 'Galetian Cocktail.'

Peering over the crowd, it didn't take her long to find him. His fiery mane a flare for all to see.

As she approached him, she saw that he was teetering where he stood. "Frukkshin." she said, alerting him to her presence.

Looking back blankly at her. "Oh, Irukan." he said as he motioned to a seat next to him. "Care to join me?" He slurred his words together as he swayed back and forth, shifting his weight more often than he usually would.

"A few drinks couldn't hurt." she said as she took a seat, as she did so, she reached a fin into her scarf and fished out Fringe's letter. "Here you go." she remarked as she set the letter in front of him.

I took a while, but Frukkshin was able to work the envelope open. "We really need an envelope… method… thing that's easier t-oh who cares." he said as he opened it up. "Lessee here." he muttered as he either pretended to or actually read.

Irukan called the barkeeper over and ordered a berry wine while she waited for him to finish.

The Arcanine barkeeper asked her a few questions before pouring an almost jet black liquid into a cup and sending it over to her before going back to his duties. Irukan stared aimlessly into the crowd as she took a drink of it. Blackwater, made from Bluk Berries, the perfect cheap wine for just lazing around.

Frukkshin looked up as he finished stowing the paper back into the envelope and sighing. Irukan looked over at him. "What was in the letter?" she asked.

Frukkshin shook his head as his only response.

Looking around aimlessly before turning back to their conversation, Irukan asked, "Want to talk about it?"

He looked up. "Not really." he said as he took a swig of his beer, and let out a heavy sigh.

Frowning a little, she told him, "It might help you feel a bit better."

Frukkshin stared off into space. "I know it will… but I'd rather not." he said as he came back and drank deeply from his stein. "We all have our burdens. You have them… I have them.. You have—wait, I already said that—but I never hear you talking about them either."

Irukan flinched as he finished his statement. "I get it." she told him, he looked up at her as she said that. "But, there is something I'd like to admit." she began as she set down the half-finished glass and folded her fins over one another.

"Yeah?" he said as he lazily looked over at her with some amount of curiosity. She knew he was paying attention, but that stare would tell a different story, almost as if she wasn't even present to him.

Irukan waited for a moment. "It's—it's about Ninetales," Frukkshin paid about as much attention as he could. "I'm worried about him, worried about us. I can't tell you why, but I think there's something far more dangerous going on and this danger is centered around him." She picked up her glass once more and stared into it aimlessly.

"Is it that you don't know, or is it that you don't want to talk about it?" Frukkshin said as he looked up to look her in the eyes as best he could, latching onto them and drawing them up with him. His eyelids were heavy as he leveled an almost empty stare at her.

Irukan squeezed the glass cup in her hands, the veins in her fins bulging slightly. "I'm not going to answer that." she said, trying her hardest to sound level, perhaps too hard.

She wasn't sure if Frukkshin registered her tone in his stupor. All she knew was that if he did he hid it well as he went back to facing forward, letting a small sputter escape his throat before saying, "Not much I can do then."

Irukan wrapped a fin around his shoulder and sighed. Frukkshin peered over at her for a moment. "Look at us," he began. "acting like adults." He gave her a half-smile.

Letting a chuckle escape her mouth, Irukan could only think to ask him one question, "Business as usual tomorrow?"

Frukkshin snorted as he looked back up at her. "Sounds good, maneater." he said flatly.

"Glad to hear you talking like yourself, slow dancer." she quipped as she finished her drink. "Let's go home, yeah?"

"Lead the way, be a bit tipsy here." Frukkshin said as he put down a modest amount of poke, Irukan following suit.

Irukan nodded towards the barkeeper as she left. "Have a safe night you two." the Arcanine shouted back as he picked up the payment.

Irukan looked back at him in surprise. "Yeah… you too." she said before exiting the bar and taking in the silent streets of Galet.

Frukkshin walked up besides her. He looked unsteady, as if he would fall over any minute, his head held lower than usual. "Silent tonight, huh?" he said as he idly scanned the empty streets.

"Yeah." Irukan replied, her voice quiet. "Shall we take the long way home?"

"That-that's… that'd be nice." he replied, his voice quieting down as well.

The two walked in silence for a long time. They passed large buildings of stucco and cement. There were shopkeepers closing up shop. The sunset began to paint the sky in orange. Fire-types began to lightly populate the roads to light up the streetlights.

They felt almost like ghosts as they passed by the warm glow of lanterns until Irukan finally broke the silence. "You seem to have faith in Ninetales." she said.

Frukkshin took a few moments before responding, "I took one look at him," He spoke with a very slow voice, "And my thoughts were 'how long was he on the streets?' think about it, before us, he was alone, he didn't even have a name. About as faceless as it gets. He wasn't just upriver without a paddle, he was upriver without so much as a chunk of driftwood." He paused for a few moments before continuing, "Something in me was saying, 'Be his friend. Be the one he can count on.' and I don't regret that choice."

Irukan frowned a little. "I guess that makes sense," she started. "You're far more optimistic than me Frukkshin."

"Not really… I like to think of it as being a pokemon that actually helps others." he said with a snort.

"You really can be an ass, you know that?" she said with a slight smile.

Frukkshin let out a huff. "One of my specialties." he replied.

They passed by a small incline and Frukkshin paused. Sitting down and looking across the dimly lit skyline of Galet. Irukan looked back and stared along with him. The stars were hung up high in the sky, obscured sparsely by thin clouds, the city dimly glowing in the light of lanterns.

"Irukan…" Frukkshin began, he looked over at her, she returned the gaze, Frukkshin's flames began to sputter a bit. "…nevermind."

Irukan smiled warmly. "Don't worry about it." she said as the two of them began to walk once again.

It was only a short while before they returned Irukan turned towards Frukkshin and nodded. Taking the hint, Frukkshin went ahead of her and into Fringe's room.

She waited for a few moments and with a small sigh, she left to her room. She passed the other group's room. Flocon was curled up on the ground, tails blocking any view to his face.

And in her group's room she heard the soft sounds of sobbing. When she looked inside she already knew what she would find: Ohm with his head in his hands.

* * *

Hmm, I wonder what Ohm was crying about...


	7. Chapter 6: Jumpin' Jack Flash

"-about as smooth as the site of a rockslide." Frukkshin casually remarked towards Flocon as he trotted leisurely down the road.

Flocon shot a cold glare at him through damp fur as he incredulously replied, "It wasn't that bad."

"It was pretty bad." Sylpheed voiced in opposition. "I've never seen anything like it, Flocon."

"Okay, maybe freezing a path through the lake didn't turn out well, but it was a good idea." He shot back as he turned his attention back towards the road ahead, grumbling slightly to himself.

Frukkshin laughed aloud. "No, it was by far the worst idea you could've had."

"What were my other options exactly?"

"Swimming for one, but it appears to me that you already have." he said with a snide smile.

Flocon opened his mouth as if to reply, but found that he had nothing to fire back with. Frukkshin looked at him and gave a satisfied huff as he turned back forward. "Looks like I have won this round." Frukkshin announced, mentally putting a tally on that.

Sylpheed stopped to smack Frukkshin in the face, giving him a somewhat stern look. The Rapidash paused to look at her in surprise. "Too far." Sylpheed told him. "Other than that, Flocon, you did… fine." she stammered out, almost as if she were scraping for the least offensive word. As she looked back over to Flocon, she saw that she was looking at the spot where Flocon only used to be.

"Frukkshin?" Sylpheed asked as she nervously looked around. "Where did Flocon go?"

Perking up and looking around, it took a moment before Frukkshin finally noticed the Ninetales. "Flocon, what has your attention?" he called as he trotted over.

Flocon didn't look up. He was standing outside a restaurant, sniffing the air with a furrowed brow. The place was nice but it wasn't anything spectacular. Though there was a distinct lack of any barred windows and in their stead stood glass windows with metal lattice. The walls were made of stacked brick and sealed with cement rather than a solid wall of it. There were hanging lanterns outside the wooden archway and inside as well that made the place nice and bright.

"What are you doing, Flocon?" he remarked, trying to cover up his deflated attitude.

Glancing back up with a look of shock and his eyes wide, the Ninetales told him, "There's… something familiar about this place," He looked in through the wooden archway that served as an entrance. "like I've been here before."

Sylpheed eyed him with some curiosity as he said this. "And what makes you think that?" she asked.

Looking back at her, he responded with an unnerved confusion, "I don't know, but I think—no—I know that I've been here before."

Frukkshin and Sylpheed exchanged a glance before Frukkshin finally piped up an answer to his statement, "I suppose if there's any chance we're going to get at figuring out a few things about you. Then we shouldn't pass this up." The Repidash then trotted forwards and into the building.

Flocon watched Sylpheed pass beneath the gateway before finally getting the hint and following.

The place was mostly empty, the Mismagius hostess looked up at them with some surprise. "Do you have any reservations darlings?" she asked in a mostly pleasant voice. Her accent was clearly galatian; it had the slight guttural tones on consonants that the accent had, but there was something that told them that she was definitely foreign.

Frukkshin glanced around for a moment before saying, "No."

The Ghost-type flipped through her book before saying, "Very well, I believe we have a few tables open." she reached over and picked up a few menus. "Follow me and try to not get water—or whatever that is—on our patrons as you pass by." she said as she pointed a menu at Flocon.

Letting out a small, almost inaudible, growl. Flocon followed the rest of the group behind the hostess.

Pulling up two cushions, one with an extra towel on it for Flocon and the other a regular one for Frukkshin, then pulling over a seat for Sylpheed. The Mismagius set out the menus in front of them. "Your waiter will be with you in a minute."

Frukkshin nodded back towards her. "Very well." he said as he looked back towards his group. "Sylpheed? You feel okay?" he inquired as due to him noticing Sylpheed constantly shifting in her seat.

Looking back up at him, she said, "You know when you get a gut feeling? That, but my entire body."

"Good or bad?"

"I'm not too sure, but something's going on." she replied as she clicked her claws together.

Frukkshin chuckled a bit hollowly and turned the question to the Ninetales next to him. "Flocon, how do you feel?" he said.

When Flocon didn't respond Frukkshin asked, "You in there Flocon?" He leaned in to get a closer look at him. The Ninetales didn't seem zoned out, in fact, he seemed more focused than ever with his brow furrowed, tails swishing, and alternating between biting his lower and upper lip.

Sylpheed reached over the table and waved a claw in front of his face to see if he was paying any attention. With a small "Hrm?" noise escaping his maw, Flocon looked over to her.

"What's weighing so heavily on your mind?" Sylpheed asked.

"It's this place-" Flocon began to speak before the waiter interrupted them.

"Would you like to order your drinks, sirs and miss?" the Frillish asked with a solemn air, almost that of a butler, the same curious accent in his voice, guttural yet airy.

"Yeah," Frukkshin began, "green tea sounds nice." he said as he rubbed his throat a bit, "Breathing fire isn't too easy nowadays."

Sylpheed looked up and said, "I'll get some chamomile tea, not too much honey, please."

Flocon said, "Black tea, two spoonfuls of milk, and only a bit of honey…" his voice trailed off and he began to stare into space as the Frillish wrote down his order.

"Very well, I'll bring you them soon." he said with dignity.

"Wait." Flocon said, he opened his mouth as if to say something. But after a few moments of trepidation and shivering, his front paw outstretched, he sat back down, slowly returning his paw to its original position. "Nevermind." he finished.

The Frillish waited a moment before nodding and bowing back to the kitchen.

Frukkshin and Sylpheed exchanged a glance. "Flocon? Do you feel okay?" Sylpheed asked with a look of confusion and concern.

"Yeah, I think I'm good." he replied, looking around the restaurant aimlessly.

Frukkshin cocked his head, his flames simmered. "You can talk to us, if you don't feel-" he started before he was cut off.

"-I'm fine." Flocon insisted as he turned back forward, his tails up and swishing from side to side.

Frukkshin gave a huff. "I don't appreciate that tone. But very well." he said as he drew himself up on his cushion.

Flocon sighed as his ears and tails dropped back down, the latter curling around him once more as he apologized, "Sorry, I just—I really don't want to talk about it."

"You've been acting up recently, this isn't the first time." Frukkshin said with his voice stern, but not aggressive, as he watched Flocon droop lower down.

Flocon opened his mouth to talk, "Frukkshin… be honest with me." Frukkshin turned towards him to pay attention to what he was going to say. Flocon continued in a slow and deliberate manner, "Do you think I'm… innocent? At first I thought I was, but with how I get sometimes… I'm just not sure anymore." As he talked he looked up at Frukkshin sadly.

Hesitating to speak for a moment, Frukkshin finally said, "I don't know the answer to that." Flocon looked sadly back to forward. "I want to believe that you are, Sylpheed, what do you—" he looked around, to see that she was nowhere near. He looked around the cafe, but while he was searching he caught sight of a small group of pokemon.

"Well, I suppose she'll be back, either way, why do you ask, Flocon—Flocon?" Frukkshin asked, trying to figure out what Flocon was staring at, following his line of sight it seemed to land on the group that had just arrived. Turning back to Flocon, he got his attention with a light hoof. "First lesson in manners: it's not polite to stare." he said with a dry smirk.

Flocon shot him an icy look as Sylpheed got back in her chair. "I didn't find out anything." she said with a shrug.

"Well that answers one question but it just—Flocon what did I just finish saying?" Frukkshin reprimanded Flocon with a much harder hoof to his back, quickly getting the Ninetales' attention.

Sylpheed decided to send an interested glance over at the group. A Noivern in a black waistcoat and what appeared to be some sort of spiked, purple choker; a Reuniclus wearing some sort of sash and carrying a book with him; a Staraptor with two spiked crest feathers with some longer red-tipped feathers that covered the sides of his head; and a Mawile with pink cuffs, dressed in a black button-up with a few holes in it to allow the fabric to breathe. As she glanced over she caught the eye of the Noivern who looked flatly back at her before turning away with a sigh. Turning back to the group with a shrug she asked, "They don't seem that interesting, why were you staring a-"

Frukkshin shot back before she could finish, "Don't encourage him." The sudden remark caused her to visibly flinch.

Flocon perked up. "I don't know, but—I think I know them, I don't know how… I know I've seen them before. But where?" Flocon racked his head as he tried to figure out who they were.

Flocon was so busy that he hardly registered the Frillish returning with their drinks.

Before he could speak, Frukkshin held up a hoof, "we'll handle it from here, I just want to know if the order's right."

The Frilsish stood still for a moment, then nodded and said, "Green tea with a small amount of honey for the Rapidash, Black tea with a normal amount of honey for the Lurantis, and Black tea with two spoonfuls of milk, and a slight amount of honey for the Ninetales." At the final description of the item, the Noivern across the restaurant perked up a bit and glanced over at Flocon.

Flocon looked back, catching the eyes of the other pokemon. The Noivern's face shifted from one of sadness to confusion, he began to get up from his seat but was stopped by the Staraptor sitting beside him.

After the Noivern sat back down, he turned over to talk with the Staraptor, the Mawile said something and gave a smirk followed by Reuniclus saying something that got the attention of the group. But before Flocon could see anything more, he was pulled back by Frukkshin who told him, "Look, I get that you might want to head over there, you too Sylpheed, but I'd rather not heckle someone on a hunch." Frukkshin shook out his head a bit before continuing, "I'd rather not get banned from ever entering this place again."

"Alright, fine." Sylpheed replied as she sank down into her chair. "But what if there's something there? What if they know something we don't?"

"Then we'll get another chance: if they know Flocon, and he knows he's been here before, then they'll come back—eventually." Frukkshin reasoned to the rest of them.

Flocon bit his lower lip and cocked his head. "That makes sense, I think…" he said with begrudging acceptance.

The Frillish waiter returned to the table, "Hello, many apologies that I've interrupted you. The sirs and madam across the cafe." he said as he motioned a fin towards them. "They would like me to ask you a question Ninetales, if you don't mind, that is."

Flocon looked up casually from his drink. "I don't see why not, alright, what's the question?" he responded.

Frukkshin and Sylpheed shared a somewhat worried look, but let him continue.

"They would like me to ask if the name Jack Flash sounds familiar to you." he inquired.

Flocon's pupils dilated at the mention of the name. "That's a strange question, why would anyone ask something like that?" he said in a confused response.

"Very well, shall I tell them that you refuse to answer?" he asked.

Flocon thought about it. "Well… I can't deny that I'm pretty sure I recognize that name, but it's still a strange question. I guess that'll be my answer to that."

The Frillish nodded. "Very well, I shall give them your answer. Have a wonderful rest of your meal." he said as he bowed out of the conversation.

"Hold on." Frukkshin asked, holding the Frillish for a few moments. "Why would you bother a customer over this?"

The Frillish brought himself back up and answered, "They're regulars, well-paying, I figure that I can do them this small favor."

With a slight nod, Frukkshin replied, "Fair enough, but I'd rather not be bothered anymore." With a slight huff he went back to his drink.

The waiter bowed and said, "Of course, I'll leave you to your drinks, call me back when you are finished." and with that, he went over to another table

Flocon peeked from the corner of his eye as the Frillish told them. The reactions each netted an aura of shock, but they all seemed affected in a different way by it. They each got up and the Reuniclus silently put a bag of poke and said something to the waiter before they all walked off.

Flocon saw that the Noivern shot one last look at him but this time it was fierce, almost a shocked anger but not exactly that either, it was some type of hate that was directed directly at Flocon as if he disdained the fact that he even existed to begin with. He was the last one to drift through the doors, he turned one more time and the two of them locked gazes once more. But even as he turned away Flocon swore that he saw a single tear in the Noivern's eye as he disappeared from sight.

Sylpheed let out a huge sigh after they left. "I feel like a weight has been lifted." she said as she breathed almost as if she hadn't known what oxygen was until now.

Frukkshin turned towards her and nodded. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that." he responded as he looked out the door. "There was death in that glare."

Flocon stared wordlessly out the door and into the streets of Galet. _that look of hatred… it was weird… I don't feel afraid but I don't reciprocate that feeling either._ he thought in confusion. As he turned back to his drink his cheeks were slightly wet from partially shed tears as he stared at his reflection in the milky drink.

Sylpheed looked up and asked, "Flocon? Are you feeling okay?"

Flocon didn't even seem to register her comment, he was too tangled up in a web of his own thoughts to even hear her, _Why? What's causing this emotion I'm feeling? I know I should feel afraid, but I only feel regret… and… I'm not sure…_ He questioned himself as he tried to hold back a flood of tears, his breathing was heavy and irregular. There was an almost stunning feeling that settled over him as he did so.

Frukkshin placed a reassuring hoof on his back and rubbed it in a strange attempt to work out whatever Flocon was feeling. Flocon jumped ever slightly as he felt the hoof touch his back. "Let's just drink, pay and leave then." Frukkshin said as he looked towards Sylpheed who nodded in agreement.

"Y-yeah, sounds good." Flocon stuttered as he practically stuck his entire muzzle into the steaming beverage before him. He quickly gave up and tore his snout out of it, sending a small amount of swamp water and tea flying. It drew the attention of most of the patrons who gave the Ninetales a look on the spectrum between confusion and scrutinizing before going back to their meals one by one.

"Gods Flocon," Frukkshin exclaimed, "drink slower, are you some sort of feral?" He patted Flocon on the back for a few moments before saying, "You're an Ice-type, be a bit more careful around hot beverages or you might seriously hurt yourself."

Flocon turned back and nodded silently, he looked to be in shock from the pain.

Sylpheed looked up from her drink and went back to drinking, letting Frukkshin handle Flocon. "I'm not using my energy on that." she remarked flatly.

"Yeah, I get it." Flocon said as he looked up with tears in his eyes. "I just want to get out of here as fast as possible." He was shivering ever so slightly from a mixture of pain and confusion.

"There's no rush, just enjoy yourself for once." Frukkshin told him.

Sylpheed nodded in agreement. "Frukkshin's right, you've been all wacky since the day we met. You need to learn how to relax."

Flocon looked up at them. "Well, that's the issue."

Sylpheed tilted her head to show interest.

"I guess…" Flocon stammered for a moment before managing to say, "I don't have many happy memories. At least nothing coherent to work from."

Sylpheed looked at him for a while before finally saying, "Then, we just have to find you some. Pretty simple…" her voice trailed off at the end as if she weren't quite sure of herself.

Flocon looked up at her. "Yeah, that sounds nice." he said as he went back to his drink, this tie going at it much more slowly.

Frukkshin smiled a bit. "Well, all we have to do is plan." he said before muttering to himself, "And I think I have just the plan."


	8. Chapter 7: Reflection

After finishing up work and returning to base Flocon was still mulling over his interaction with the Frillish from earlier that day. As for the others: Sylpheed had gone to clean the infirmary again, Irukan and Ohm were prepping the food for dinner later on and Frukkshin was out with Fringe doing some shopping. All this leaving the Ninetales some time to be alone. Well, sans Bancho roaming around with some sort of object that needed moving or fixing.

"You seem bored." Bancho mused as he passed the other side of the round table Flocon was seated at, idly chewing at a twig of bamboo and carrying some half-fixed chair.

Flocon looked up passively. "I don't really have anything to do. Everyone else is out doing something and here I am, just—here. I guess." he said as he motioned around the base with a paw.

Bancho let out a slight breath, something that sounded vaguely like he acknowledged Flocon's boredom. "I see." he said.

Flocon waited for him to say more, but seeing as the Pangoro elected to remain silent Flocon decided to continue, "And that's the thing, I don't know what I could be doing right now. Everyone here has their duties but everything that needs to be done is getting done, I feel… like I'm not doing enough." He looked off forlornly, his ears drooped onto his head and even his mane seemed to deflate.

Bancho grunted as he chewed a bit more and set down the chair he was carrying before saying, "I'm done moving things. Going to do some training." As he stood up a bit straighter and stretched a bit. "If you've nothing to do. Come with me."

Flocon looked up to see Bancho already leaving. Wanting to go with him, Flocon fumbled out of his chair and managed to catch up with him.

Looking up from across the room, they heard Ohm call out. "Don't get yourselves killed." his voice sounded mostly passive. Flocon cast a gaze over to the source to find him at another table with Irukan as they flipped through a notebook.

"You don't tell me what to do." Bancho retorted, his voice a hardened edge.

Flocon looked between the two after Bancho said that. _I thought they were friends?_ he thought to himself, then tried to rack his head a bit more, _Or, is this part of being friends?_ He gazed onwards as they exited down the stairs, through the odd foyer with the mailboxes and into the chilly air of Galet, the streets slick with the sheen of fresh rain.

The two began to walk. Minutes passing before Flocon finally looked up. "Where are we going, Pangoro?" he asked, his question was genuine as they passed into _La Troisieme Quartiere_. He looked around confusedly, he never really payed much attention to the streets of here until now. But there was an odd feeling he got from doing so, like some sort of heavy weight was slowly being dropped on him.

With a grunt, Bancho replied shortly, "Flatlands outside Marais Morte." his voice was quick and flat as if he weren't used to talking while he walked.

Flocon cast a curious look at him, and then turned his attention back forward. "That's a long walk, isn't it?" he asked.

"Fairly."

Flocon put forth a few more attempts at conversation but each and every one of them led to a simple one-sentence response and nothing more. This continued for a few minutes until the Ninetales finally surrendered.

Casting his gaze around the district he noticed that it looked dilapidated, abandoned. The only difference between it looking so and being so was that there were still pokemon bustling about the streets. Flocon let his eyes wander about, occasionally glancing a look off one of them. They looked terrible, sickly even, but something about them made them seem almost happy in some way. Their accents were much harder than the ones he usually encountered and something about this sight struck him in a strangely personal way. It was as if he was the native… but in a foreign land. No, he was the foreigner and this was the homeland… but that didn't make sense at all, did it?

He knew he had passed by this part of Galet many times before but he had never stopped to really take a look around him. He noticed that the buildings here were almost nothing like what he knew. None of them taller than two, maybe three floors, unlike _La Deuxieme Quartiere_ where buildings stood as tall as six or seven. Windows were boarded up here and there and patchwork cement covered the sides of many buildings. Looking at these strange hybrid buildings, sitting somewhere between old and new but never quite bending one way or the other. Just gazing upon the cracked cobblestone roads, smoothed by years of footsteps, he gained some odd sense of nostalgia. Gentle tears threatened to flow but he forced them behind the enemy lines, no matter how much it hurt to do so.

In this bustle Flocon let his mind drift and it never seemed to go one way, it went towards buildings that creaked where they stood and inspired strange emotions in him. A mix of awe and fear, towards them, these buildings, they all seemed to speak to him, centuries of history and war lay in the space between their cracks and holes yearning for someone to hear their cries of agony. As he passed by he heard the buildings settle like an old man about to tell their life story to a young child who barely understood the meaning of it.

A nearby worker busied himself with polishing a rusted bar, gathering as much on the paper sheet below him as he did in his lungs. With an instinctual cough Flocon looked down from the streets hoping to find some respite, but all he found was his own reflection in a puddle. He paused for a moment, the ripples vivisected his reflection at various points. _Who the hell are you?_ he thought to himself. He tore his gaze from the strange figure, deciding to catch up with Bancho before he got too far to see.

Flocon found the sights that slid by him, dizzying, tormenting, none of this felt right but he knew he was where he was meant to be. Something called out for him but he dared not look back. Not so much as the fear of seeing what it was but from the fear that something might have been there. But he knew it was there, it had to be there, something tore at his back. Something was digging hallucinatory daggers in the space between his vertebrae until it cleaved even his spinal cord, freezing and deadening his senses.

He knew there was no escaping it as he was grabbed by some energy. something clawing its way in, digging its claws into the side of his face. And all this was forcing the Ninetales to look behind him and he caught movement just out of the corner of his eye. Crimson fur escaped into the alley, Flocon panicked as he felt the shadows of the buildings being cast over him. But how could they have been doing so? He was standing in the middle of a well-lit street at midday. At least he thought he was. And then those claws, those sickening but familiar claws that moved from his head to his throat and wrapped around it like a chain with a constriction that felt like he was drowning with his feet made of lead.

An empty and crystalline cling echoed in his mind, something was fading, but something was there. No, there were two. Two beings seemed to pervade him, they were right there, so far away, an indigo shadow cast by an orange glow stretched off from each one. They knew something he didn't… or was it the other way around? Did he know something? But no, how could he have known. There was an orange glow that cast an indigo shadow that made him know that they were closer than they ever should've been. Orange and indigo.

That cling echoed once more and it flew overhead with icy wings.

A firm grasp took him by the shoulder and turned his head. Flocon shut his eyes and tried to scream but couldn't, his tongue felt withered and dry. "Ninetales." a gruff voice came to him from in front of him.

A loud and sudden smack to the jaw sent him to the ground and out of whatever trance he was in. "I don't know how Frukkshin and Sylpheed put up with you." Bancho said with a note of exasperation.

Flocon got up with a bit of effort, he looked down and saw that he must've subconsciously frozen the water near him. Once he steadied himself he sent one glance back. He sighed shortly after, relieved that whatever presence that was stalking him appeared to have left before letting out a nervous laugh. "Yeah," he said, his voice shaky. "I can-"

Bancho put up a paw and said, "Whatever it is, I'm not interested." It wasn't exactly aggressive but it was said with a firmness that made Flocon shut his mouth. But before he turned back he rubbed his forehead, the action drew Flocon's attention to it. A small but fresh gash had formed on the Pangoro's forehead.

"Where did that cut come from?" he asked, worry woven through his words.

Bancho froze in place. "You've… ugh." he sounded in exasperation.

"I've what?" Flocon questioned, tilting his head.

Bancho looked up at him with bemusement before telling him, "I was trying to grab your attention from afar." Drawing himself up to recount it. "It didn't end well." he said as he put pressure on his wound to stem the bleeding.

Flocon looked around him. "How exactly?" he asked.

Bancho gave him a blank stare before turning on his heel and walking away.

It took a few moments for Flocon to catch up, tripping on a small stone for a moment. He needed not only a moment to register that Bancho wasn't going to say any more about the situation but to shake out his fur from some residual moisture that got on it.

Sticking close by Bancho's side, Flocon glued his eyes forward trying to ignore the sounds of pokemon in the streets. Children laughing and playing with their thin figure revealing the truth of their condition.

When they finally entered into Marais Morte, Flocon felt alleviated for many reasons, but his feelings were only replaced by a foreign guilt that weighed heavily on his mind, but had no definition to it.

But his train of thought was cut short by Bancho pausing to look around. "This place seems good," he said.

Flocon looked around, the area was fairly flat with a few stones spattered about, the area, Flocon noticed that just to his side was Purple Bog with its air that seemed almost alive. _Isn't this where Frukkshin tested me?_ he thought to himself.

He looked over at Bancho to see that he was in the middle of stretching. Seeing as they weren't going anywhere, Flocon decided to ask, "So, what are we doing?"

"Basic training, agility for today." he said. "I'd recommend you do some warming up as well."

Flocon watched him blankly for a few moments before doing his best to stretch. Bancho watched his form closely. "Arch your back deeper. Stretch until your knees touch the ground." he casually instructed.

"Alright, but I don-" Flocon's speech was interrupted by a sequence of cracks down his spine, his spine seemed to loosen up and his legs popped a bit\\. "Okay, that actually feels a lot nicer." he conceded with a sigh of relief.

"Now pull yourself forward." Bancho continued.

Flocon followed his advice, feeling his legs stretch and ease up.

"Now stand up as much as you can on your hind legs, lower your front so your chest is on the ground, then pull yourself forward once more."

Following Bancho's advice, he was able to stretch his hips and legs.

"Now roll your neck back and forth."

As Flocon rolled his neck he felt the last of his spine relax.

"Then, move your jaw to loosen that up. Take some deep breaths." Bancho said as he began to do exactly that.

As Flocon finally finished, his body felt incredibly light. "You really seem to know your stuff." he remarked, commending Bancho for his knowledge.

Bancho let out a small grunt at Flocon's observation before immediately continuing as normal, "Alright, onto the first exercise: agility."

"Alright, what are we doing for that?" Flocon asked as he watched Bancho shake out his arms.

"Simple, I'm going to throw some punches, all you have to do is dodge." he said as he raised his fists.

Flocon's expression quickly changed from one of interest to one that can only be explained through the exact thoughts of, _What did I get myself into?_ Before shaking it off. "Alright then, let's start." he said with trepidation as he splayed his legs into a battle stance.

"I'll try not to break anything." Bancho said as he widened his stance to something comparable to that of a boxer's. Someone who knew not the exact spots to hit, but how to throw a punch hard enough to make it hurt no matter where it ended up.

He sprung forwards and threw his first punch: a right hook against Flocon who ducked out of the way only to be met with a knee to the neck. Flocon reeled back, gagging from his throat being crushed the way it was.

Bancho paused a moment. "Predict your opponent's moves. Receiving a strike like that in a real fight could easily kill you." he said flatly.

Flocon finally managed to settle his coughing. "Are you sure you're holding back?" he asked incredulously.

Bancho nodded and said, "Shall we try again?"

Flocon nodded as he repositioned himself. _He's right, I rely on my distance, on moves that require the use of my mouth. If I sustain a hard enough blow to the throat, I'm done for._ He thought as he took the time to shake out his groggy mind and refocus.

Seeing Flocon's preparedness, Bancho started again. This time throwing a haymaker with his left, Flocon gave a large clearance to the right. But Bancho swiftly recovered and paused his advance by twisting his body he redirected his momentum into a crescent kick that sent Flocon into the air.

Flocon flipped a few times from the imparted torque before slamming into the mud but even that wasn't enough to keep him down as he managed to quickly recover to his feet and get in position. Bancho nodded and this time threw a straight punch that Flocon replied to by jumping towards it, weaving under it from an angle and getting behind Bancho.

Bancho twisted and threw a roundhouse kick but Flocon preemptively ducked. Bancho followed through with a hook that the Ninetales leaned back on, dodging it and the Pangoro's follow through jab with a twist of the head, the fist getting enshrouded by his flowing mane. Flocon shot forward through it and slid through the space between his opponent's legs.

"A bit of a slow start, but impressive nonetheless." Bancho remarked. "Getting behind your opponent can be instrumental to winning a fight."

Nodding and making a mental note of what Pangoro told him, Flocon then asked, "So, now what, are we done?"

Bancho shook his head. "Not quite, try and hit me with a physical strike. Special attacks come next. " he said as he widened his stance once more

Flocon widened his stance a bit, splaying his forelegs to prepare to attack, he lunged forward trying to headbutt, but his target weaved out of the way, Flocon tried to recover, but his movements were clumsy as he tried to kick off and bite at Bancho.

Bancho watched Flocon closely, anticipating his opponent's next move. He dodged each lunge, tackle, and bite that Flocon attempted with ease.

Flocon's lunges got slower and slower until he stopped to take many deep breaths, completely and utterly spent. _Damnit, just one strike._ He thought as he lunged and missed completely. But during this lunge Bancho slid and gripped the forelegs of the Ninetales, flipping him into the air but stopping before it turned into a full throw and instead using it to sling Flocon over his shoulder.

"Your movements were slow." Bancho said to the dazed Ninetales. "It's clear you can fight, but your movements look almost unnatural. Perhaps you'll be better at special attacks." After he finished he dropped Flocon onto the ground. The Ninetales fell into the slimy mud with a heavy smack.

"In fact, it'll be a better use of time to focus on your defensive abilities." Bancho said as he looked Flocon up and down.

Flocon rolled over onto his front, got up, and shook out his fur a bit. "Sure, whatever, but what was that?" he asked.

Bancho gave him a quizzical stare before saying, "It's called a throw, it turns your opponent's momentum against them."

"Oh." Flocon sounded. _I might have to learn some, but if I really am that clumsy, I doubt I could learn how._ He thought with a bit of bitterness at the last part. _There has to be something I can do._ Flocon remained oblivious to Bancho's repositioning.

"Are you ready?" Bancho asked, though it was more of a statement coming from him.

Flocon shook out his train of thought. "Yeah, let's begin." he said as he prepared himself once more.

Bancho seemed to slow down his movements, his palm glowing as he pushed the air in front of him creating a temporary Vacuum Wave. Flocon narrowly avoided the oncoming shockwave sent towards him, soon disappearing behind him with a sharp snap. However Bancho sent another one that he wasn't prepared for.

The wave flew directly at Flocon but something happened, neither of them were certain of what it was in the heat of the moment, the attack seemed to lesser in intensity as a loud crack shortly followed. Instead the Pangoro was the one who found himself reeling from the force of the attack.

Flocon covered his ears in pain as they instinctively pinned down. Bancho took a moment to breathe before getting back to his feet and walking over to the Ninetales. As he got closer he recognized something he saw hours earlier. The air around Flocon appeared to be charged in some way; it felt bone-chilling and it glittered with frozen crystals of air so minute that they remained suspended in the air around him like some sort of aerial colloid.

Flocon finally looked up and saw the same thing but it seemed to simply fade away after a few moments.

"What was that?" Flocon asked nobody in particular, looking around at the warmer albeit still chilly air immediately surrounding him.

"It came from you. You should know." Bancho mused as he brought a hand up to his chin.

Flocon looked up as if this was somehow new information to him. "Yeah, hold on." he said. He began to focus once more the air around him began to cool and crystals even started to take shape but they soon fell to the ground like snow, too large to remain in the air. "Damn." Flocon muttered.

Bancho looked him up and down. "Tell me, has this happened before?" he asked, paying especially close attention to Flocon's movements as he tried once more to recreate the move.

Flocon squinted and cocked his head in thought as the frozen air sublimated back into the atmosphere from which it came. "I don't think so, I would've noticed if it had…" his voice trailed off as he came to a sort of realization. "But, when it was up for that split second after I realized it, it almost felt like I was using Arctic Warrior, but somehow differently than I was used to." he explained.

Bancho waited a few moments. "So, it felt as if it were a more focused form of your Arctic Warrior? I presume that's your unique move, similar to Frukkshin's 'Blitzkreig Flare' or Sylpheed's 'Planet Waves'?" he asked.

Flocon gave some thought to it. "Yeah, but I'm not entirely sure what it did." he mused. "So I'm not sure if it's even worth pursuing it."

"You seemed to put it up by instinct. So either you're a good liar, or something in your head is starting to click." Bancho remarked after a few moments of silence. "If the latter is true, then it's worth pursuing."

Flocon looked up. _I didn't really think of it like that. Are things starting to come back to me?_ he thought for a minute before saying, "A few things might be starting to realign a bit more. But… I still can't make any sense of anything."

"Anything about the incident?" Bancho remarked.

"Well, yesterday, when we sat down at that cafe—I didn't check the name of it, did I?—that's not important though." Flocon said as he shook his head a bit before continuing, "Our waiter asked about the name Jack Flash… I know I've heard that name somewhere before… But even now, I don't know where I've heard it."

"And this relates to all of this, how exactly?" Bancho asked him, the questions seemed to come faster and faster each time.

Flocon took a minute to figure out his answer before finally saying, "Well, it vaguely reminded me of something. I remember… there was someone else there. I don't know who. But there was another pokemon."

"And how do you feel towards them?"

"Well, I'm not sure, I have this strange mix of feelings, some sort of sorrow and welling hatred at the same time." Flocon squinted, trying to make sense of everything, his mane fell in front of his face as he visibly shook it. "I mean, it doesn't make sense, those two emotions falling side-by-side, what sort of catastrophic mess must all this have been?" he questioned himself, his voice taking on odd and melodic intonations. "Is there any who might be able to explain such a… a… tortuous and winding mystery such as this?"

Flocon began almost slurring his words together as he continued, his voice shifting in pitch a bit, "I simply cannot begin to comprehend, how could one ever find it so difficult to remember such an important event in one's life? Why does this answer elude me so?" he paused for a second and shook his head vigorously. After clearing his throat, he looked back up at Bancho and said, "I think I got a bit carried away there. Sorry." His voice returned to it's normal and odd tone.

Bancho watched him closely for a moment before saying, "Anything you remember can be helpful."

Flocon sighed in response. "Yeah." he said, his ears drooping down a bit.

Bancho crossed his arms in response to Flocon's expression; it wasn't a commanding look, as if he was telling him off, but more an expression of thought. Flocon took a moment to try and shake the feeling off of him. But it seemed to stick to him like cement, and weigh him down just as much.

Finally deciding to speak up Bancho said, "We should head back, you did fine today."

Letting out a small breath and a nod, Flocon said, "Yeah, that sounds like it'll be good, maybe some other time I can try to do what that ice stuff was again."

With a nod and a grunt, Bancho began to walk, casting a strange eye at him before he turned fully away from the Ninetales.

Flocon began to follow behind, but kept a distance. _I get that Banette and the other's have good intentions, but... _ Flocon tightened his face to try and hold back the tears. _I'm like a prisoner, some sort of captive being held willingly._ He pulled his head up. _I can never be free, until I can prove myself innocent, but… what if I really am guilty…? What happens then?_ The Ninetales gazed down at the ground, his shawl weighing heavily on his shoulders as they found their way back to base.

* * *

Just a heads-up for next month, NaNoWriMo, I will not be stopping progress to do something else, in fact, I'm going to challenge myself to put up a chapter a week for that month, whether I'll actually be able to, who knows.

And another small announcement, I'm starting work on a little side-project. It'll be out sometime next month and have a much looser upload schedule.


	9. Chapter 8: Burning

Alright, first upload for NaNoWriMo, I think this one turned out pretty good

* * *

"Hey, Frukkshin." Fringe called over. "Would you mind helping me out here?"

Glancing over his shoulder Frukkshin saw that Fringe was mentally weighing two separate baskets of apples, trying to figure out which one was in better condition. "I don't know much about apples, yeah?" The Rapidash responded after a few moments.

"Well, it was worth a shot." Fringe replied with a small sigh before picking up the one on his left. "We'll take this one." He fished out a few poke from a pocket within his shirt and handed it to the Lucario at the stall.

"Very well, have a nice day." she said as she scribbled something down on a note of paper.

As the two of them walked off, Frukkshin lifted the basket on his back and Fringe worked to tie it down. "Careful not to get too excited this time." Fringe said. "We don't want to cause a scene."

Frukkshin let out an amused sigh. "Yeah, I'll be more careful." Frukkshin replied with a slight roll of his eyes.

"I'm serious, Frukkshin." Fringe said, somewhat unamused by the Rapidash who gave a slight snort in response.

Pulling out a list and checking off some items, he pulled the sheet closer to hhis face. "Alright, what else do we need to get?" he asked himself.

"Hm?" Frukkshin sounded as he peered over.

"We got everything we came to the market for, but I'm starting to think I missed something." Fringe said, confusion written across his face as he turned over the list a few times in his hands.

After a few moments of thinking, he folded up the list and said, "Well, maybe we should walk around a bit, maybe I'll see it and remember…" his voice trailed off. "Speaking of remember, how has Ninetales been?"

Frukkshin replied quickly, "He's been doing fine, can't really say much else about him other than he's a bit odd." he paused the conversation, "Actually, just yesterday, he was approached by our waiter, the same place where he destroyed his throat drinking too fast." Frukkshin had to pause to let out a laugh, before calming himself when Fringe shot him an unamused look. "Yeah, but we were asked if Flocon knew someone called… 'I think it was 'Jack Flash'? Or at least if the name sounded familiar to him. He said that he might've heard it before."

"Jack Flash, strange name." Fringe mulled over the new information. "I can't say I've ever heard of him."

Frukkshin paused for a minute. "Heh, then you're in the same boat as we are."

Fringe sighed and told him, "It's entirely possible he could be related to someone in _La Premiere Quartiere_."

Frukkshin made a noise of disgust. "Could be, it isn't impossible." he reasoned. "But I'm not going to that part of the city."

"Then you're just like everyone else." Fringe remarked. "There has to be a way to sneak Ninetales in, I'll dig down in the client lists to see if I can pull a few strings to get him in."

"You plan to send Flocon in alone? Won't he be immediately recognized?" Frukkshin asked.

Fringe took a few moments before replying. "Sending him in alone is quite possibly the only way we could get him there." Fringe gave a slight smirk. "And remember, Ninetales is an amnesiac, If I can get in contact with someone from up there, they might be able to claim they were friends, or distant relatives or something along those lines, I don't like using methods like this, but it might work."

"You might need to hone that idea a bit before it becomes any use." Frukkshin said after a few moments of deliberation.

Fringe sighed. "It has a lot of holes in it, but I'll work on patching those up in due time."

Frukkshin looked up. "I don't really get it." he said.

Fringe waited a few moments before finally saying, "Don't get what? You're being a little vague here."

Giving a slight huff, Frukkshin explained, "Well, I don't get why you're putting yourself at so much risk to help Flocon."

Fringe stayed quiet for a moment. "There's a few reasons, I can at least tell you a few of them in public." giving himself a few moments of silence to explain himself, he finally said, "Ninetales is the case of the century here, if we can solve it, then we can solve anything. I think that people need to be able to trust that we are capable of solving any mystery or any issue set before us. And if we can, perhaps we can finally get enough recognition to become a guild and finally bring some stability to this city." Fringe looked the other way. "I know it doesn't sound good when I say it aloud, but that's the truth."

Frukkshin took in this information set before him, his flames quelled a moment in silent deliberation. "I respect that you told me the truth about the situation." he said. "But you would be correct in that last part, it doesn't sound good when you say it aloud." he let out a small huff as he looked off in another direction.

"It's not that I don't care whatsoever about him." Fringe mused, though there was something in his voice, as he opened his mouth to say something else, he closed it almost immediately after.

Frukkshin looked back at Fringe, first he waited, but after a few moments he got the bigger picture and responded, "You don't need to justify it to me. I'm not Flocon." he said with an understanding tone to his voice, but something about it seemed almost accusatory, though he continued, "Everyone has imperfections…" Frukkshin stuttered as he finished saying those words. Something resonating from deep within him. He managed to pick himself back up, though his next few words came slowly, "…some of us more than others." there was a strange note to his voice, though he quickly shook it away.

Gazing in the Rapidash's direction, Fringe said, "Don't blame yourself, there's nothing you could've done." his voice had taken on a softer tone.

Pausing in his tracks, Frukkshin began to breathe heavily. "You're right." Frukkshin's voice had taken on an intense silence, something that threatened to scream. "And that's what hurts the most." he said as he almost fell to the ground.

Helping his friend back to his feet Fringe said, "They'd want you to be happy. Remember that."

"But I want them to be happy." Frukkshin replied. "Gods, what I wouldn't do to have taken their places." he slammed the ground with a hoof, the crown of fire adorning his head flaring to an unbearable heat that stabbed into whoever stood near with searing thorns.

"Frukkshin, calm down." Fringe tried his best to ease the Fire-type, though he hesitated to touch him, visibly backing away.

Frukkshin looked over at him with bleary eyes but his gaze shifted to something much softer as he regained control of himself. "I… sorry." he averted his gaze as he spoke.

Getting back to his feet and dusting himself off. "It's not me you should be apologizing to." he tried to sound sympathetic to Frukkshin's demeanor but also to tell him that what he did wasn't okay. Though he wasn't entirely sure whether he succeeded in doing so or not since Frukkshin continued casting a sad gaze down at the ground.

His voice had regained its usual volume by the time he spoke next. "Fringe." Frukkshin began, shame laced in his voice as he stood quietly in the same place, not looking up at his leader.

"I get it." Fringe replied. "It might be for the better that we go back now." as Fringe spoke he glanced at Frukkshin's back where he was carrying their groceries.

Looking confusedly over at the Banette, Frukkshin turned to look back at his hind. Seeing the food that they had bought had gained a subtle coat of ash during his episode he let out a sullen, "Sorry."

Fringe didn't respond, instead electing to hold up a hand to wordlessly tell Frukkshin that he was fine with it even if he wasn't completely happy about the outcome.

Frukkshin looked over in surprise before softening his gaze. "Thank you." he said quietly, holding his head up slightly higher than it was before.

The two began their wordless journey back to base, Frukkshin occasionally sending glances towards Fringe to try and get a read of how upset he was. Though Fringe didn't seem to show anything that told him that he was especially angry, his face seemed unsettled and he gave Frukkshin a wider berth than before but nothing more. The sight made Frukkshin look away. "I forgot." he said regretfully.

Fringe paused in his tracks for a moment, his face darkened for a moment. "I like to think I have too." he replied as he continued his gait.

Frukkshin turned his head back forwards, trying to keep his mind away from their interaction, though images began to swirl through his mind. All he saw was fire, inside and out, a flame like a furnace, the burn that keeps him alive, the burn that brings others to the ground..

* * *

After they returned to base Irukan came over to help the two of them unload their groceries. "Thank you, Irukan." Frukkshin said flatly.

Irukan turned back to him for a moment. "No quips this time?" she remarked sarcastically before she read the expression on his face and turned away. "I guess not." she said quietly.

She retreated down the hallway and by the time Frukkshin had passed through the gateway, Irukan had already begun unpacking though her eye seemed to linger on the scorched edibles.

Frukkshin too gazed down at the brazed food and shifted his weight as he dug into the tiled ground with his forehoof. He let out a small cough before saying, "It was an… eventful day."

Irukan let out a sigh as she unloaded the rest of his groceries. "I see." she said, understanding of his tone.

Frukkshin lingered for a few more moments before walking away. He soon found himself back in the main room with Bancho and Flocon having returned.

"Hey, Frukkshin." Flocon said as he marched towards the Rapidash, a slight limp in his steps though he seemed otherwise okay.

Frukkshin surveyed Flocon's body quickly noticing splotches of crimson on the Ninetales. He looked over at Bancho but noticed that there was no sign of injury, ho looked at Flocon and then at Bancho to only repeat that same motion a moment later. "Training?" he asked as he did so again.

Flocon let out a yawn and nodded, seemingly unfazed.

Frukkshin stood there for a moment, confused as to what he should do. But he finally let out a small grunt of amusement at his fellow's actions, Frukkshin remarked. "Don't go being as silent as Bancho now." he let out a laugh even while shooting a glare at Bancho who returned a similar look.

Flocon turned his gaze between them before finally walking away. Frukkshin dropped his previous expression for a much more confused one. "Hmm." he sounded, tilting his head in confusion.

While he was distracted Sylpheed sneaked up behind him and grabbed him from behind in a hug. But when Frukkshin's expression didn't really change she let him go and asked, "Did I miss something?"

Frukkshin waited a moment before finally registering her question. "Has Flocon… smiled before? Is he okay?" he asked.

Sylpheed backed up and put a claw up to her chin taking a few moments before finally answering, "A few times, but it's been a while. And why do you ask?"

Frukkshin nodded before casting one look over at the Ninetales and then back at Sylpheed. "He didn't look good," he remarked.

Sylpheed peered up in silence, letting Frukkshin continue his train of thought. The Rapidash continued. "How does he feel about all of this?'' The question he posed was entirely rhetorical but if Sylpheed was going to make an attempt to answer, he wasn't going to stay to hear it. His clopping retreated back down the halls and he found himself at the entrance to his room once again.

Slowly entering into the room he perked an ear back to make sure nobody was watching. Confirming the vacancy of the area he ventured over to his bed and cleared some of the hay. Revealing two small and polished orbs of obsidian only big enough to fit in the palm of a hand. He stared at it for a long time, as if waiting for something to happen before covering it back up. He touched one for a moment and started to put his weight on it. Sorrow welled within his body and he strained to force the tears back. He lifted his hoof from it, not able to follow through with letting the past be the past. He looked at the sun through a small window at the top of the room. He saw it was falling to dusk though it only felt as if morning had come.

It was as if time had never even moved.


	10. Chapter 9: Lying in Wait

Marais Morte… Flocon considered it a fitting name. They were only two sectors into it and already the sheer strength of the pokemon this deep was staggering compared to those of Purple Bog. And yet, they were the intruders, they were the invaders. But Flocon didn't care about the ownership of those savage beasts.

He stuck near Sylpheed and Frukkshin, close enough to almost hear their heartbeat. His ears were perked and wary of any pokemon that might leap from the underbrush of Verdant Marsh. Every sound seemed intensified in ways he never thought possible, the squelch of every step he took, the twang of a bow, the rustle of a feral.

Flocon paused for a moment. _The twang of a bo-._ His thoughts were cut short by an arrow tearing into his hindquarter. He cried out from the agonizing blow as it plunged into his flesh until it struck bone, lodging itself in firmly.

The other two immediately came to his defense. Sylpheed gripped the bleeding Ninetales, while Frukkshin scanned the area of whence the arrow came from. "Sylpheed, protect Flocon." he ordered as he began to focus energy into his mouth. An orange glow suffusing the air around him.

"Frukkshin, wait!" Sylpheed exclaimed. "You can't fire a Flamethrower in a place like this!"

The Rapidash ceased and nodded, refocusing for a moment, the color of fire was soon replaced by a bright white. Frukkshin kept his ears perked, Sylpheed was deathly still as she held up a Protect. But there was no other sound beyond the warping of the green barrier.

Sylpheed rose to her feet, doing her best to carry the Ninetales in one arm. "I knew something was off." she muttered.

Frukkshin turned for a moment to try and hear her, but that one second was all it took as another arrow flew towards them. The Rapidash did his best to dodge out of the way, the tip scraping past his neck and leaving a thin line of blood, causing the energy to dissipate. "Behind cover, now." Frukkshin commanded.

"One step ahead of you." she remarked as she dove behind a tree.

The Rapidash slowly backed up, keeping a very close eye on whatever it was, his wound vaguely hurt as he hid himself from the assailant. It was a slow, throbbing, and numbing pain that almost felt as if it were spreading throughout his being.

Frukkshin gave some attention to his wound by trying to put pressure on it with a nearby branch, Sylpheed got up and helped him do so. Though the blood seemed to start slowing on its own.

Locking eyes with the wound on the Rapidash. Sylpheed had a hunch that led her to leap out of cover to grab the arrow that skimmed the Fire-type just moments earlier, narrowly avoiding another projectile as it lodged itself in her clothing. She grabbed it and dashed back into cover to investigate. Turning it over a few times in her claws, she saw a sticky residue drip onto her pink exoskeleton. "We don't have much time." she said.

Frukkshin looked down at her in a panic. "What?" his voice was in disbelief.

"These arrows, they've been poisoned." she remarked. "You'll be fine—probably, it's Flocon who could…" her voice trailed off as she put a claw to the head of the Ninetales.

Frukkahin gasped and glanced back to where the arrow came from. "So, what that means is: whoever shot that isn't a feral?" he stuttered as he talked.

Sylpheed nodded, her face visibly darkened. She gripped Flocon and muttered something in his ear.

Frukkshin was visibly disturbed by the new piece of information as he looked up. "Damn coward." he muttered under his breath, the white glow returned to his mouth before he finally burst out in anger, "Show yourself!"

He reeled back for a moment. Before a crackling beam of energy flew from Frukkshin's maw blasting the trees apart and resulting in an energetic eruption. The leaves cleared for a moment but Frukkshin was rooted to the ground in exhaustion after firing a Hyper Beam. There was an opening but nothing came from the leaves.

"Are they gone?" Sylpheed asked as she let her claw down to the ground, she hoisted the limp Flocon in one arm. Her breathing quickened as she looked him up and down. Touching a claw to his face she opened one of his eyes, she watched them and for just a moment, she saw some sign of recognition, Flocon was alive.

Letting out a sigh of relief she told Frukkshin. "It looks like he's only sedated, he might be fine, but we should finish up now. Just in case."

The Rapidash gave her a quick nod as she hoisted Flocon onto his back. "There we go." Frukkshin remarked. "We should keep our guard up Sylpheed… Sylpheed?" Frukkshin looked to the ground to find her sprawled out on the ground, an arrow lodged into her arm.

"Shit." Frukkshin said, as he stepped back and perked his ears up. "Damnit, where are you?" he muttered as he heard the twang of another arrow, he leapt up and dodged it as it scraped his leg, the loud sound of a wet thud reached his ears as Flocon tumbled off his back. He turned around and stared down the origin of the shot.

Frukkshin peered down at Sylpheed and Flocon and muttered, "As long as I don't fire anything too hot, I shouldn't start a fire. But even if I do, I'm not letting either of you die like this!" his voice rose to a crescendo as he reeled back and shot a Flamethrower, aiming towards the spot he saw the arrow fly from.

However the second he did, an arrow flew out, he jumped to the side and dodged it. He leaned back and fired once again into the shadows, he caught a quick glance of some tall, avian figure in the distance. He knew then who his target was as he shouted towards it, "Alright, come on then." as he fired another Flamethrower into the shadows, singing leaves as a gentle crackling filled the air.

One more time an arrow flew from the depths, the Rapidash dodged in vain, as another arrow struck true into his thigh before he could reposition himself. Frukkshin struggled for a moment as he tried to remain upright but he soon crumpled to the floor.

A few minutes of long silence passed before the avian figure came out of the shadows, revealing himself to be a Decidueye. He walked to stand over the fallen Ninetales and held out a note. "This is the one?" he remarked to himself. "I expected far more of a fight from you." he said as a shadowy aura began to wrap around his wing, "Seems you've met your end."

Decidueye raised his wing as the energy took the form of a Shadow Claw and aimed directly for Flocon's neck.

He was about to bring his wing down as he felt something crack the back of his skull. Reeling forward and tripping over the strange Ninetales. He found his footing and looked around to no avail. "Must've been a damn feral." he remarked as he rubbed the back of his head.

He repositioned himself but once again something cut him off, but this time, it wrapped around his leg. Pulling him to the ground Sylpheed jumped up and dropped her elbow directly into his ribs. "It's like he said. I'm not letting us die here." Sylpheed exclaimed as she rolled off of him and back to her feet in one smooth motion, the arrow in her sleeve flailing about.

Decidueye made eye contact with her. "I thought I shot you." he said as he started to his feet. He was more concerned about the Lurantis standing at all rather than the fact that there was a slight glow to her, her petals seeming a bit more spread out.

The Lurantis wasn't about to let him though as she grabbed his shoulders and kneed him in the ribs. He managed to stagger to his feet whilst gripping his chest and sprung forwards into her, slashing her chest with the Shadow Claw he'd been saving up.

She fell back as the claw passed through her chitin and bit directly into her flesh, she pushed herself up against a tree an ethereal glow surrounding the gash as she struggled in the searing pain. "Not so tough now? Are you?" he taunted as he landed a firm punch directly to her jaw, cracking her tough shell.

As he was about to draw back his fist Sylpheed grabbed it and flipped it around before cracking down on it with her other claw.

The Grass-type yelped in pain as he drew back his crumpled wing. "You, I hit you directly, how are you standing as if nothing's happened?"

She said, "I'm a bit tougher than you think." as she sprung forward and tackled him into the dirt. Rolling off and back to her feet once more she began to change her pose a bit, stretching her arms far to her sides and bringing them in with a deep breath as a green oscillating wave began to surround them.

The Decidueye found his footing at long last and stared her down. He prepared to leap forward but was quickly cut off by an ember striking him in the square of his back, he flinched in pain. Looking down to his side, he saw Frukkshin give a wry smile before finally passing out.

He recomposed himself a moment too late as a long and deep gash was seared into his good wing by a wave of concentrated light. A wave far stronger than anything he'd felt before, Sylpheed's Planet Waves planted a crippling pain into him, and he fell unconscious from the sheer shock of the blow.

Sylpheed let down her claws once more and fell to her knees in exhaustion. Letting out heavy pants as she tried to regain her composure, each struggle to stand felt as if she were holding the weight of the world on her shoulders. She looked around with bleary vision as she steadily found her footing. She reached up and dislodged the arrow from the fabric of her shirt, letting it fall onto the ground.

She grabbed Frukkshin and dragged him into a small alcove in the trees, then grabbed Flocon and laid him down. She sat on the ground and waited a moment. Tears filled her eyes as the area filled with a deathly quiet. Turning over her claws as she looked at them, Sylpheed hung her head low.

It was a long time until Flocon finally began coming to his senses. "Augh, finally." he said as he tried to get up only to be met by failure as he plummeted to the ground.

"Don't push yourself too hard." Sylpheed told him as she rested a claw on him. "There's not much that I can do about the poison that entered your body. You just need to give it time."

"Sounds good." Flocon said as he let himself be hoisted up and set against the wall. "How long was I out?" he asked as he glanced around through cloudy eyes.

"A few minutes at most, Frukkshin should wake up soon. I hope he will anyway." she said as she drew a claw to her face and let out a small sigh of relief. "I'm just relieved that whatever it was that he shot you with didn't kill you."

Flocon looked up with some vague concern, Sylpheed seemed to draw herself in a bit as she spoke. But if the Ninetales was going to say anything more he was far too pacified and instead opted to lie back down and rest.

Sylpheed heard Frukkshin stir soon after and began to help him get comfortable next to Flocon. She opened her mouth to speak but Frukkshin held up a weak hoof to quiet her down. "You did great out there, I didn't see it, but we're alive because of you." he told her.

Sylpheed looked down at the ground. "Yeah." she said shortly as she let herself relax a little. "I'm just glad everyone is still alive."

"I am too." Frukkshin responded as he let himself lay back a little bit.

Sylpheed sighed as she got to her feet. "I think, I think I just want to get back to base alive." she said as she crossed her claws and looked off into Verdant Marsh. The setting sun filtered through the trees, casting an eerie glow. "I'm not happy with what you did though."

Frukkshin gave her a weak nod. "The team comes first." he said as he laid back and waited for whatever poison was flowing through his bloodstream to wear off.

She held up a stick to his mouth. "Could you light this?" she asked nervously.

The Rapidash looked over to see that she had built a small pile of sticks and a few logs, which all looked too damp to really catch on fire. "Sure, though I doubt it'll light very well." he said as she gave a small huff of flame long enough to get it to crackle.

"Thank you." she said as she got to working on lighting the stack of sticks.

Rapidash tilted his head in confusion. "Why are you making a campfire?" he asked, there was a hint of concern in his voice.

Sylpheed looked up as the fire failed to start. "I don't know." she said as she leaned back. "I guess I just want to have something to do…" her voice trailed off as she sat down and drew her knees to her chin.

Frukkshin gave her a smile as he positioned himself to lay on his belly and spark up his mane.

Sylpheed looked up in surprise. The fire was dim, possibly due to exhaustion, but she huddled up against it either way and leaned slightly on the Rapidash. "Thank you." she said softly.

"Don't mention it." he said before tacking on at the end, "Especially not to Irukan." He leaned forward and let himself get some rest.

Flocon shifted from where he was to lay beside the two of them and rested his head on Frukkshin before letting out a small contented huff. _It sure is warm._ he thought as he let his mind drift away.

* * *

By the time the poison truly wore off to the point he could stand, it was nearing dusk. "We should finish up our last job." Flocon said. "It can't be too much further in, right?"

Rapidash firmly replied, "We will not, Marais Morte is dangerous at night. Your life is more important than any lost toy."

Flocon stood still for a moment. "Alright then, back to base we go." He let a disappointed frown cross his face, but inside he was ecstatic. Looking up at Frukkshin's retreating figure he ran towards the guiding flame and he knew that he wasn't alone. He knew that someone truly and dearly cared for him.

At that moment Flocon didn't have a care in the world but something in the back of his head was nagging him. He stopped before turning around to check the fallen Decidueye and in his coat of feathers he found a burnt note. He couldn't make out the exact words in the setting sun. But he could make out enough to know what it meant. The Ice-type had no idea who it was behind all this but one thing became apparent, one thing that frightened him beyond all else. Someone wanted him dead, and they wanted it now.

Flocon knew his days were numbered.

* * *

I'm still keeping up and at this rate I'll continue to do so. I almost forgot to upload today but I just remembered


	11. Chapter 10: The Heat Goes On

It was practically night as Flocon lagged behind Frukkshin, mulling over his next move. Before he could speak up Frukkshin paused outside a small restaurant and remarked, "This seems like a nice place to stop at." The place itself was nothing too remarkable. Wooden entrance, cement floors, and barred windows gave the place a somewhat modern feel for the time period.

Flocon looked around as they entered out of idleness rather than anything else he saw groups of pokemon talking and eating. Though at least this time his nagging and worried feeling came from another place. _I suppose that's a good thing._ He thought to himself as they sat down.

The group sat down and all but Flocon began looking at the menu. Flocon's mind flowed from one point to the next, a grimace crossed his face only to be replaced by a sullen frown moments later. Tears began to run from his face. _They were after me. Then that means…_ he broke from his train of thought to look up at his fellows who returned his glance with a worried look. _That means I put them in danger._ Flocon leaned on the table as he thought this, he felt sick. Sick with himself more than anything else wanting to simply disappear then and there, never to be seen again.

"Flocon," Frukkshin began as he looked over to him. "you can talk to us."

The Ninetales looked up at them. He tried to form his words but every attempt he made was met with failure. He knew then that there could be no moving around the point, that he had to just come out and say it. "That Decidueye." Flocon stuttered for a moment. "He was after me. It's because of me—th-that you were all put in danger." Flocon doubled over his own words as he continued, his voice a pained whisper, "I'm so sorry."

Frukkshin placed his hoof on Flocon's shoulder and gave it a rub. "Your life matters Flocon. Like I promised when we met. I'm not going to abandon a pokemon in their time of need." he said quietly as he gave him a slight push in an attempt to knock the Ninetales out of whatever stupor he was in.

Flocon looked up in confusion and Sylpheed spoke up. "I promised to help too." she said as she reached over a claw to touch Flocon's chin. "We're not going to leave you."

The mood darkened a bit when Frukkshin spoke once again, "If what you're saying is true, then there's something far darker going on behind all of this." He hummed in silent deliberation, before letting out a single grunt and sitting back down at the table.

Their waiter came over to them and they quickly ordered. The waiter shot them a glance back as he walked away, surprised about their lack of subtlety of wanting him to leave them be.

Frukkshin grunted a bit. "If someone wants you dead, that means that there's at least one person who knows what's happening."

"But why would they want him dead?" Sylpheed asked as she jumped out of her chair. "It just doesn't make sense to me." she fell back into her chair and crossed her arms in a pout.

Flocon scratched his face a bit. _That's a really good question, why would they want me dead?_ He thought as he looked out the window as he thought aloud, "What's going on?" The other two perked up for a moment, seemingly puzzled by his short question. The two of them exchanged a glance, the Ninetales too preoccupied with whatever was in the distance to pay any mind to them.

Frukkshin opened his mouth to speak but was shortly cut off by their waiter returning. "Just leave them in the middle, we'll sort them out." he ordered as the Pawniard gave him a harsh look as he set out the glasses before shrugging and wandering over to another table. "That's what I'm saying. There's at least one person involved that knows what's happening, and that's the one behind that letter. We have to find them but I'm not sure where to start." he explained before looking off.

Sylpheed stared at Flocon scrutinizingly before nodding and returning to her previous position of laying back in her chair.

"Now where were we?" Frukkshin pondered. "Right." he said as he started to officially speak, "Flocon, you've always struck me as strange for obvious reasons. But now, more than ever, try to remember something. Anything." the Rapidash put heavy emphasis on his last words, beggin Flocon to dig up something in the depths of his mind.

Flocon gave him a surprised look from across the table before considering it once again. He racked his head for any information. "I know there was at least one other pokemon, but there may have been… two?" he sounded unsure of himself as he spoke. "Er, no, that doesn't sound right. There was more than one, but less than five." he finished up as he let his head fall to the table in exhaustion, "That's all I can remember."

Frukkshin shifted a bit in his cushion before muttering, "Any information is good information. We'll have to talk further tomorrow." He looked off, oblivious to their waiter returning with their food.

"Are any of you going to drink?" he asked, pointing to the full glasses.

Frukkshin took a moment to look up in confusion before saying, "Right, yeah. We'll eat."

* * *

Flocon awoke to the sound of commotion. Stretching as he glanced around, he blinked away his fatigue. It was only a few seconds before he realized that Frukkshin and Sylpheed were nowhere to be seen.

Ohm peeked his head through the door. "He's up." the Ampharos called over to the others before motioning for Flocon to follow him outside. His hair wasn't sparking at all, which was a relief to the Ninetales.

The Ninetales stood there for a few moments, worried and confused about what might happen next. He walked outside to see that the rest of the Modern Crusaders were discussing something at a table. At his entrance Irukan turned aside and motioned him to a cushion.

As Flocon sat down Fringe began to speak, "Ninetales, the events of yesterday have come to my attention." he paused for a moment as he let out a breath and interlocked his ragged hands. "You understand the gravity of this situation, correct?"

The Ninetales flinched at Fringe's tone, but nodded and said, "I do… I had no idea." his head fell low in shame. A torrent of guilt threatened to drown him and all he could do in response to it was shudder.

The Banette refrained for a moment. "Tell me, what was on that note you read." What should've been a question came across as a command.

Flocon hesitated, trying to recall what was on the note, he had only caught bits and pieces of it but he had to speak, "It was mostly destroyed, but there was one piece of information that I haven't told you about yet." Flocon stuttered as he spoke and struggled to maintain any reasonable eye contact.

Fringe noticed his expression. "Ninetales, I hate doing this to you as much as you hate being in this situation. We're all willing to risk our lives to get to the bottom of this, but we need you to work with us." his voice was noticeably softer, his expression friendlier as he tried to calm down the shivering form of the Ninetales.

Flocon let in a gulp, Frukshin approached him from behind and gave him a confident nod. The Ninetales saw, let out a grunt, and faced Fringe with renewed confidence, no matter how frail it was, and told them, "it was a writ of execution, it identified me as this Jack Flash, but—I don't know who that is."

Sylpheed jumped at the mention of the name. "Isn't that what the Frillish asked you about a few days ago?" she reminded him and the others turned to face Sylpheed who shrank back at the sudden attention.

Bancho took a moment to think. "There's no way it's a coincidence." he mused as he scratched his chin.

Visibly shuddering Irukan looked down, though she quickly recovered her composure. She caught the eye of Sylpheed who gave her a suspicious look before turning back to the ceiling. Irukan still had a worried look spelt across her face, as if she'd done something wrong, but none of the others seemed to catch it and it disappeared only moments later.

Ohm piped up after giving it a moment of thought, "You can't exactly trace handwriting to a single pokemon in a city as large as this. Who were the pokemon at the cafe? If we can find them, we could talk to them."

Frukkshin glanced over at him and gave him a disappointed and somewhat chastising glare before saying, "Yeah right, we'll just sit down and have a pleasant conversation with the people who sent actual fucking assassins after us." He put a huge emphasis on the latter half of his statement. Continuing to give Ohm a harsh glare he said, "What we're dealing with here aren't petty thieves. They're hardened criminals, we can't just approach them and ask questions."

Sylpheed and Flocon exchanged a nervous glance but said nothing as Ohm leapt out of his chair to chastise the Rapidash, "Alright then, what's your plan?" He gripped the table harshly with his fins.

Fringe looked between the two pokemon arguing across the table and said in a loud and firm voice that stopped the two from continuing, "Frukkshin has a point, talking to them is out of the question." He paused as he put some thought into what he would say next. "But whoever they are, they have the best idea of what's going on, and they might be the only ones who do." he remarked. "We may not be able to get a direct answer but we can at least get an idea of the situation."

Bancho spoke up in response, "Then we have to find them. If we know the part of Galet they live in, we can find them."

Flocon rested his head on the table, his ears flat as he waited for them all to be finished.

The Rapidash gave it a moment's thought. "They didn't seem poor, in fact, they may have been from _La Premiere Quartiere_. But how the hell would we find out?" he asked the question mostly to himself as he mulled over the thought.

Fringe nodded. "I had a slight suspicion that Flocon may have some ties to said district. I was able to get in contact with a client that lives there who can help us. Though we need to know with absolute certainty whether this will be a good idea or not. Their reputation will be on the line after all." he said as he waved his hands dismissively.

Irukan hesitated for a moment, biting her lower lip. A long silence had fallen between the table as all of them tried to think of a way to move forwards. She knew she had to say something. "I... I think I have an idea of where to look." she said quietly.

The rest of the group looked over to her expectantly. Her mouth went dry as she struggled to find her words. "I don't know for certain, but if the assassin was as efficient as you say, I think it has to do with a group that calls themselves Requiem." she spoke slowly and softly, as if she were being forced to talk at gunpoint.

Fringe looked disturbed by the information. "There's a possibility isn't there?" he remarked. "What gives you this idea?" he asked in return.

Irukan froze, unprepared for the response. But she knew that she had to say it, for the sake of her teammates she had to speak up. "I saw a pokemon who associates with them on my way to find Frukkshin. I knew him at one point." she looked to the ground as she spoke. "His name..." her voice trailed off into the distance before finally returning. "He was a Malamar. I know it was him."

The rest of the group took the news in a stunned silence. Hours seemed to pass before Flocon asked, "What do they want with me?" his voice was desperate for some sort of answer from her.

Irukan only gave a sad glance to the ground, her eyes wet with unshed tears before she finally found her pained voice, "I wish I knew more."

"Thank you, Irukan." Fringe remarked, trying to be understanding of her situation. She gave a slight breath of relief as she saw the solemn faces of the others, grateful for her trusting but seemingly sorry for her. The looks made Irukan frown but she refused to say why.

The Dragalge didn't wait around any longer. opting to leave her chair to go to her room, none of the others voiced any issue with her action.

Fringe hesitated for a moment, waiting a few moments. "If they're after Flocon then we need to be ready. I will begin preparations to get him into _La Premiere Quartiere_, everyone else is dismissed for the day." he said before leaving his chair and walking away.

Ohm and Bancho exchanged a glance and nodded, getting up to go back to their rooms. This left Frukkshin, Flocon, and Sylpheed to their business.

Casting a sympathetic glance at his companions Frukkshin remarked, "I believe we should get moving for the day. Prepare for anything, I doubt they'll let up until we take them out."

Flocon winced at the remark as Frukkshin trotted over to the job board. _Damnit, damnit all._ he thought as he cast a sorrowful gaze to the ground. _I never asked for this._ He started tearing up, he tamped down a scream that threatened to escape his maw. Sylpheed touched a claw to his leg and he shot his gaze upwards to meet her eyes. She gave him a small and reassuring smile but the Ninetales didn't return it back to her.

"We'll get through this, we promised, remember?" she reminded him.

Flocon gave her a weak smirk but said nothing in reply. _I keep hearing you say that. I know why you're saying it. But this, all of it, it's my own damn fault and I don't know why. If only I could tell you what happened, if only the answer was so clear._ his thoughts were bittersweet. He could only hope that he wouldn't be such a burden in the near future.

By the time they got to Frukkshin he seemed a bit lost in thought. "Shit, we have to go back to Verdant Marsh." he said, frustration in his voice.

Flocon and Sylpheed looked at each other and sighed.

Ohm overheard their conversation and chipped in as he walked back into the room, "Seeing as Irukan won't be coming today." he looked behind him and continued a bit sadly, "Or Bancho for that matter. Would you mind if I tag along for today?"

Frukkshin gave him a confused look before finally saying, "Sure, but if you're coming, we might as well pick up a few extra jobs." he turned back to the board and began to scan documents.

After a few minutes the quartet was off for the day. And only minutes later, they were dropped off.

Flocon gave the edge of the city a few glances finding nothing in particular. But a soft sound caught his attention. None of the others seemed very interested in it however.

An old Alakazam sat at the entrance of an alley, their appearance was a ghastly sight with hollow cheeks and sunken eyes. "You." she beckoned with a frail finger towards the Ninetales. Signaling for him to come closer.

Flocon stared scrutinizingly towards caught no distinct signs of danger. He looked at his group, who were beginning to get impatient with him. "I'll be just a few minutes." he replied.

The trio exchanged a few words and glances before Frukkshin finally nodded. Ohm walked out and said, "In light of recent events, I'll be going with you."

The Ninetales gave him a slightly confused look before realizing the implication and nodding. The two walked over to the old Alakazam to whom Ohm gave a foreign look towards.

The Psychic-type was delighted to see him. "I knew it. You're different, aren't you?" she said in a sage voice.

Flocon gave her an unconcerned look. "Yeah, I get that a lot." he replied. Seemingly bored already. The Alakazam gave him a slight psychic nudge that restored him to life.

"More than you know." she said as she looked deeply into Flocon's eyes.

Flocon returned with a blank stare. "I'm an amnesiac, of course there's more going on than I know." his voice was impatient and fast. "Are you just wasting my time?" he half-shouted.

Giving a short but haughty laugh the Alakazam told him, "I suppose you are, yes. A shattered past haunting your every step."

Returning a confused and angry look Flocon gave a terse reply, "Yeah."

Ohm gave her a scrutinizing look up and down. "Who are you anyways?" he questioned.

Rising to her feet, she exposed her even stranger stature. Age weathered away her body, her ribs practically showing through. "I am a seeress. Come just a step closer, you-"

She was quickly cut off by Ohm's remark, "I believe in fate like everyone else, but I do not believe in fortune-tellers."

Alakazam's eyes twitched at his remark but she otherwise maintained her composure. Flocon looked back at Ohm but decided against his remark and approached the seeress. "I see one of you has the sense to listen." she said in a gentle voice as she held a glowing hand in front of his face and after a few moments she told him, "I see a grim sight. There's a figure, two figures in fact, on the horizon, they cast a long and dark shadow that seems to converge at your feet. You're pulled into it but something grips you and pulls you away as a blinding light enshrouds the sight." She leans in closer. "But that is where even my vision ends."

Ohm and Flocon stood for a moment. "Sounds like a load of shit to me." Ohm said as he turned on his heel.

Giving him a harsh look, Alakazam said, "You seek a way out." Ohm paused at her statement as she continued, "The past stalks your every move until it finally leaps out to entangle you."

Ohm shivered for a moment before continuing his walk, never turning around or looking back.

Flocon watched Ohm wander back to the group before turning to face the seeress once again. He perked up and looked around but she had disappeared on him, nowhere to be found.

Frukkshin came over to him and gave him a nudge. "Are you done?" he asked.

Taking a few moments to peer around him. "Yeah, I think I am." Flocon replied as he cast one last look behind him before walking away.

* * *

Just one more NaNoWriMo update and then I'll return to the original schedule, I'll admit that this was incredibly difficult to keep up with, but not impossible.


	12. Chapter 11: Close to the Edge

"No, this isn't good whatsoever." A Huntail remarked as he scanned a shelf for various food items.

A puff came from a nearby Gorebyss. "You and your perfection." she replied as she turned over a jug of milk with her fins. She turned to face him, her light blue scarf following her motion. "I'd expect nothing less from you Vans." she finished with a light chuckle.

The Huntail went to look at a different shelf and said, "You're telling me that if I get the wrong type of bread Marie won't bitch about it?" Vans gave her a level and unamused look before turning back with a puff. "And there's nothing wrong with striving for perfection Haley." he raised his voice slightly, nearing the point of reprimandation but halting just shy of it.

She let out a sound of amusement as she dropped an item into the shopping basket. "Now then, we nee-huh?" The Gorebyss' voice was cut short by a soft buzzing as a Ninjask landed just atop the shelves, she turned to face the source of it. "Hive?" she sounded.

The Ninjask looked at them curiously and said with a small amount of regret in her voice as she told them, "Sorry to bother you two. The boss called a meeting, it's urgent." she turned and flew off, her padded wings flapping with incredible speed as she hovered. "Best not to keep him waiting, yeah?"

As Hive flew off, Vans and Haley exchanged a glance. "You heard the woman." Vans said as he motioned to the air.

Haley sighed and said, "Best cover our tracks… You think they'd tell us in advance, but no." she held out the last word for a long time but when she finished. With a grumble and a hop into the air she dove into the ground as it liquified beneath her, letting her sink into it with ease. Vans gave a bored look into the hardening ground before sighing, setting the basket on the shelf and doing the same.

* * *

Flocon, Irukan and Bancho walked in silence for a long time before Bancho finally spoke to Irukan, "First you, now Ohm." his voice was flat and unamused as he continued walking.

Ninetales gave the two a small but worried look before letting out a sigh. _Well, at least it isn't me this time._ he thought to himself as they continued.

Irukan gave a soft grunt and replied, "At least I had a reason, I don't know what Ohm's deal is." she turned her head to the side and continued, "It has to be something, it always is."

Flocon looked between the two. "Has he done this before?" he asked as he tilted his head, letting out a soft grunt.

The Dragalge let out a weary sigh and said, "Quite a few times, what can I say except that his emotions come in extremes. If he's not happy, he's sad. If he's not interested, he's bored." once she finished her voice trailed off until she was muttering to herself.

Bancho gave a slight shrug and spoke for Irukan, "Yes." he looked around unamused. "He'll be fine in the morning."

Flocon gave a slight grunt and put his eyes back forward. _I guess that's one way to look at it._ He thought to himself as he peered around.

Bancho stopped and pointed to an iron gate guarded by a Corviknight. "We're here." he said flatly.

Flocon looked over. _That's the entrance to La Premiere Quartiere? Doesn't seem very impressive._ He thought as he strolled over to check it out without any prompting.

Irukan and Bancho gave him a somewhat confused look but neither did anything, choosing instead to let the scene play out on its own.

As the Ninetales got closer he saw that the red eyes of the Corviknight began to follow him. Flocon turned to face him and said, "Hello?" his voice was tentative and a little worried.

The guard did not give a reply, instead standing firm, his glare unmoving. Flocon started walking around him and giving him looks up and down in mild interest. "You don't have to be so cold about it." he said.

Irukan watched this interaction in embarrassed amusement as Flocon began sniffing the air to see if the pokemon set in front of him was real or not. "Should we stop him before he gets hurt?" she asked Bancho.

The Pangoro gave her a look and said, "Probably." he began to stroll towards the Corviknight and said, "We're just here to get Ninetales out of your feathers." With his paws up to show that he wasn't about to do anything too bold.

The massive bird gave a quick ruffle of his feathers. Flocon gave him an odd look as he heard some snickering across the gate that drew the attention of all but Corviknight, who kept his eyes trained upon the trio.

Flocon drew his attention to the source of the noise. He saw two nobles, a Delphox and a Serperior, dressed in rather extravagant clothing made of pristine cloth and golden accessories. «Look at the silly peasant trying to find his way in, eh?» the Serperior spoke in an odd language that Bancho and Irukan knew far too well. Sirin: the language of the aristocrats, the descendants of those who conquered this city so long ago. They knew they must be looking down on them but they couldn't respond to something they knew nothing about.

Flocon ceased his activities to simply stare down the nobles. Bancho and Irukan gave them harsh looks as the Delphox replied in Sirin, «Just look at that imbecile Ninetales and you'll have seen everything. Probably a bastard child that criminal.» she gave a short laugh as she motioned towards Flocon.

Flocon turned his head to face the Delphox as she spoke and then towards the serpent as she replied, «What would you expect from the lower quarters? I doubt the Pangoro and Dragalge are any smarter. I'd bet they're his accomplices.»

Giving a hard grunt and marching up to the gate «How would you like to say that to my face?» Flocon said with a hard edge to his voice. Everyone immediately turned their attention on him. The nobles went white like a sheet, Bancho and Irukan were sent bolt upright, and Corviknight stood in shock, unsure of what he should do in response. «Come across this fence and fight me you lowly bitches!» he exclaimed with a growl.

Before the Corviknight had a chance to respond to the nobles running or the Ninetales outburst Irukan leapt forward and pulled Flocon away. She didn't wait to see what was about to happen as she sped down the alley alongside Bancho.

When they had reached a safe distance and took a moment to make sure they weren't being followed she dropped him and gave some time to herself to catch her breath.

Flocon got to his feet and said, "I-I'm sorry." his head fell low and his tails alongside it. "It's just that they were saying all that crap about you guys and I... I just broke."

Irukan gave him a confused look before letting out a chuckle. "You think we're angry with you?" she said.

Flocon looked up with a puzzled face as Bancho said, "It was nice to see them get told off. Even if I don't know what you said." he held a paw to his chin as he chewed lightly.

Flocon stood in silence for a moment before saying, "So, neither of you are mad? Really?"

"How could we? Sure, I'd rather you didn't make as much of a scene but screw them." she said with a grin on her face before muttering, "It may not be the most legal thing but it was nice to see." She picked up Flocon's head to look him in the eyes before nodding. "You know… maybe you're innocent, maybe you're not, but at least you're alright. The name's Irukan H. O. Minaar, but just call me Irukan will you?"

Flocon backed up and gave a nod. "Well, thank you? Call me Flocon then." he replied as he began to wag his tails. Not really sure if that was a compliment or not but accepting it anyways.

The Dragalge gave him a warm smile before saying. "Well, at least we know for sure that you're from _La Premiere Quartiere_ now. So I guess we'll have to work from there."

Giving her a nod Bancho said, "We should tell Fringe as soon as possible." he rose from a squatted position, letting his arms swing a bit before tucking his paws in either pocket.

Flocon gave a small and satisfied huff as they began to walk.

As they walked away Flocon felt something stare at him from afar, he glanced behind him, barely missing whatever it happened to be beyond the tip of a black, two-spined tail. He stared in wonder for a few more seconds before turning back around and leaving.

"What's got you all in a ruff this time, Flocon?" Bancho asked as he peered down at the Ice-type.

Looking up for a moment Flocon said, "Probably just paranoia. Wait, why Flocon?"

Bancho shrugged. "Bancho B. Goode. Don't laugh. Just call me Bancho."

Flocon gave a confused tilt of his head. _I guess that's one way to do it?_ he considered.

Irukan cast a curious look in his direction before shrugging and saying, "Considering recent events, that paranoia may not be misplaced."

Flocon let out a sigh and began moving once again. _I really hope it is…_ he thought to himself.

Bancho looked down at the Ninetales and then up at Irukan, remarking, "You'll get along just fine."

Looking back up with minor confusion and giving a short growl Flocon said, "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Irukan gave him a look as Bancho gave a mischievous half smirk and kept on walking. Irukan remarked to the Pangoro, "You've been spending too much time with Frukkshin I swear."

* * *

They eventually came to their base. Bancho gave Flocon a nod before leaving. Irukan patted him on the back and said, "You should talk to Fringe about this, it'll look a bit better if you're the one that does it."

Flocon gave a confused look to the Dragalge's figure as she sat down at a table.

The Ninetales looked around in a bit of confusion before walking to Fringe's room just down the hall. He looked at the door, then down at his paws and thought, _How exactly am I going to knock?_ He looked up once more and then around. He backed up a few feet and angled himself back before dashing forwards, jumping, and slamming his head into the door. The door visibly bulged in before springing out as a loud thud reverberated through the rooms and hallways before Flocon shook out his head. _There's probably a better way to do that._ he thought as he felt ever so slightly concussed by it.

Fringe flung the door open and looked around. "What happened now?" he exclaimed as he looked up and down the hall before he finally noticed Flocon who was having some difficulty standing. "Oh, I've never been happier to see that it's just you." He opened the door further and finished with a simple, "Come on in."

Flocon entered into his room, it had a few stacks of paper piled up next to a desk and in the corner was a pile of hay. "So, I presume you need to talk to me?"

The Ninetales fumbled for a moment before giving a nod and saying, "Yeah, so we found new information."

Fringe perked up at the mention of this and said, "Very well, go on." He gave a motion with his ragged hands as he sat down, pulled out a pen and pad from his desk, and prepared to write.

Flocon sat across from him. "To make a long story short, we managed to figure out that I definitely had some ties to _Le Premiere Quartiere_ when I talked back to some bad mouthing aristocrats in the language they were speaking in." he finished with a slight grumble.

After scribbling down a few notes the Banette gave a sigh. "Is that everything?" he asked.

Flocon returned his gaze with a curious one of his own as he said, "That's it really."

After leaning back in his chair Fringe let out a puff and gave it a moment of thought before finally saying, "Any information is good information. And now we know that we need to get you in somehow. I've been digging through a few contacts, pokemon we've worked with before, but so far I've had no luck." He gave Flocon a simple look as he rose from his chair and grabbed a stack of papers. "I assume there's nothing left to talk about as of now?" he gave a tilt of his head.

"No, not really." Flocon replied as his tails drooped a bit. Fringe held the door open for him as he left and Flocon gave him a verbal, "Thank you." As he left.

Fringe loitered for a bit giving the Ninetales a curious look before shrugging and walking over to the job board to begin pinning up new requests for the next day.

Irukan gave him a puzzled look from across the room, she marked her book and set it aside before calling over to him, "Rough day?"

The Banette paused for a moment before responding, "Busy as usual. Nothing more, nothing less."

Dragalge gave him a scrutinizing look before returning to her book and mumbling to herself. Fringe looked over and began to idly talk with her as he worked, "Is the book interesting?"

Irukan gave it some thought before replying, "It's good enough I suppose." She gave a small sigh as she looked at the book. "Nothing too special about it."

Fringe gave her a foreign look as he finished pinning up all the posters. He floated over to her and looked at the title of the book. The actual title was printed on the spine "In the Wake of Madness" Fringe easily recognized the book from the swirling lines on the cover alone as he remarked, "The work of the late Greirach? I'd say that book is better than 'good enough.' I'd say it's rather fascinating."

"It gives you a bit to think about, yeah, but it's not that fascinating nowadays. Plays are really meant to be performed rather than read. Besides, Galet's nothing like he makes it seem." she said as she pushed the book away from her.

Fringe gave a light chuckle as he turned on his heel. "I suppose that's true by today's standards. But you forget that Galet was once a proud kingdom of its own." He gave a sweeping motion as he talked, accentuating the grandeur of his sentence.

"Perhaps it was. But that day has long since passed." Irukan said as she leaned down on the table. "A day that'll never be seen again." her voice was quiet and wistful as if it were some sort of prayer. She arose from her seat and slithered off to her room. "Goodnight." she said as she left Fringe on his own.

He stood rooted to the ground as he peered around, not really sure what to do with himself by now. He pulled out a chair and sat in silence for a little while a sad look crossed his face. He waited in silence, mentally suffocating in it's air for a few minutes, before getting up himself and retiring to his room for the night.

* * *

And so closes NaNoWriMo, well, technically it closed yesterday, but according to my Google calender, today was a new upload day anyways. So, back to the old schedule!

As for my side project, it's still happening, I was just having difficulty keeping up with editing due to NaNoWriMo.


	13. Chapter 12: His Name is Flocon

The next day came to pass as it usually did. Ohm, Bancho and Irukan all left the base and entered into the streets of Galet. They were off to their duty for the day but it seems that the Ampharos had been oddly quiet.

"Something must truly be wrong this time." Irukan whispers in Bancho's ear, her voice seems tense and extends to her entire being.

Bancho shrugs and smoothly replies, "It seems so." he nods and gives a grunt of frustration. Then again, this is hardly the first time this has happened in recent memory.

The Pangoro set a firm hand on the shoulder of the Ampharos, sending a shudder that reverberated through his entire being. Ohm immediately snapped his attention to meet Bancho's. Through a nervous and wild gaze, Ohm slowly sounded the singular word, "What?"

Bancho nods and simply says one thing, "I-we're starting to worry about you." he stuttered only for a moment. Though the exact source of this stutter was unknown.

Irukan nodded and repeated the thought, "You seem to be really upset about something." she said it in a voice that might be comparable to a weary mother.

However, any of this intonation appeared lost on the Ampharos' face as he stared blankly towards them, his gaze unmoving. Hours seemed to pass until he finally broke away.

He shook off Bancho's arm and started walking once again, his gaze focused on the cobblestone pavement.

Ohm hesitated to speak, a gulp of air racing down his throat as he planned his next steps. His eyes were not blank and hollow as one might imagine, but instead full of things that needed to be said.

But he didn't know how to say such things, it never even occurred to him that he had a mouth to say them.

All he knew was that something was weighing on his mind, something that he could never let go of. Something that would follow him, waiting in his shadow. The past that he could never leave behind.

Was there blood? He remembers that much. But maybe there wasn't.

Was there fear? There was.

Was there regret? He doesn't know the answer to that.

Irukan gave him a solemn glance from behind, she opened her mouth to say, "Ohm, say something. Anything." She seemed nervous, tense. Her entire body seemed to reject the silence of her companion.

For the first time in what felt like years, Bancho let alarm cross his visage. Though, I can tell you that it's only been a month and a half.

Ohm looked back at them, pausing his advance for just a moment. "I... I'm not sure if there's anything to say." He looked down at his fins. He knew that they were clean now, they had been for years by now. But his face read that he felt disgust towards them. Towards himself. He turned them over as if he were looking at them for the first time.

There was a long pause, neither Irukan nor Bancho knew what to say in response to this, clearly they were unprepared for Ohm to be this far into… whatever it was.

The silence was finally broken by Bancho, who told him, "You can't change the past." the words appeared to resonate with the Pangoro. It was a side of him that seemed to catch Irukan off guard.

Ohm stopped his advances, but he didn't appear to stop thinking about it. He weakly replied, "I know that, no one can change the past just like I know that no one can change the future." he seemed on the verge of tears as he talked.

Irukan gave him a sympathetic glance as Ohm stood rooted to the ground as a statue to its base.

He dared not to tear his gaze from the cobblestone that stood below him. Six, that's the number he felt beneath his feet, two on the left, four on the right. He seemed to laser in on this aspect to tear his mind away from the events unfolding in his mind.

However unsuccessful he might've been.

"Ohm, it's clear you don't feel well, maybe you should get an early rest." Irukan recommended, assuming an illness ravaged his body. Though she was far off, it was a madness of sorts that plagued the Ampharos. A certain insanity brought on by regret.

Ohm hesitated to respond to her. Every fiber in his body, every motion he made, spelled the words fear. Fear of what though? Perhaps it was himself.

He finally managed to speak, "I-I can't do this. I've spent all my life running and I can't escape it." his voice had a strange quality to it. Not quite crazed but something that may be reminiscent of such a thing.

A curiosity indeed when he slowly continued, "I wish, I wish I could change the past. Do it all over again." he winced at his own voice. "Instead of this, instead of being the one that managed to fuck everything up." tears spilled down his face as he finished. He brought his fins towards his face so that he wouldn't have to make eye contact with his fellow companions.

Irukan gave him a sympathetic gaze as she responded to his words, "We all have our regrets. Every single one of us has made mistakes." she paused. "That's why we have each other. That's what brought us together." she seemed to have more to say on the matter, but something invisible held her tongue. No, it was deeper than that, something had its fingers wound around her vocal chords and refused to let go.

Bancho nodded, his stoic expression softening only a bit. He seemed to have things he wanted to say on his mind, that much I can tell.

… Hm?

The conversation took an odd turn as Irukan spoke, "Ohm, I know you're in pain, but right now. Now more than ever, we need you to be as focused as you possibly can." she held her fins to his face, forcing him to make eye contact. She seemed to flinch for a moment before she reiterated, "We need everyone to be at their best, now more than ever."

Bancho nodded. "Requiem is a powerful opponent. We can't let our guard down. Not even for a second." his words were deliberate as he tried to snap Ohm out of whatever mood he was in.

The Ampharos looked towards him, a show of progress as he said, "That's what I'm worried about... every single time... I-I always mess it up!" he exclaimed. "I can't be trusted, not with something like this!" his hair sparked in a show of anger directed towards none other than himself. He turned away, unable to face his teammates.

Irukan tried to give him words of comfort, "I believe in you then. Maybe you've made mistakes before, but this can be the time to change that." she gave him a sympathetic smile. Though it was easy to tell that she was close to tears herself.

I want to run. The words on each and every one of their minds, the words that have been in everyone's mind at one point or another. Running from the past in one form or another, whether it be responsibilities hefted onto them by their birthright or consequences created as a result of their actions.

Looking back on it, I'm not immune from thoughts like these and the actions that precede it either. Amusing really. More so that I only realize that now.

A chill breeze swept through the streets of Galet, coating it in a thin sheet of verglas. The trio ducked behind cover, though the winds were gone in hardly a moment. "What the…" Ohm sounded in shock.

The group was frozen, none of them knew what it could've been.

Minutes passed before the Ampharos snuck from his hiding place to look at his reflection in the ice. It looked like a statue being moved in stop motion. Ohm tried to find his words, but none were able to come from his mouth. He tried to speak, but he lacked the coordination to do even that much.

Irukan tried to catch herself. "That's not natural." she remarked, looking up and down the street for some sort of source to the wind. She slowly approached the middle of the street to find that there was little to no commotion. "Right…" she muttered as she slithered back onto the sidewalk.

As she was slithering back, she paused as she felt another presence. She looked behind her.

Empty, the streets were barren of any other pokemon, but there was something there. She knew there was someone watching them, but she had no ideas as to what the source might be. What was this mysterious thing weighing its gaze on all of them?

Irukan mentioned, "It's quiet." that was all she could muster as she began to slink back. A sinking feeling rooting itself in her heart and pulling her down with it.

Bancho found his footing soon after shaking the ice off his coat and noted the same thing, "There has to be a reason for this." he stated. Taking a moment to check up and down, he noticed his fur suddenly felt a lot dryer. More confirmation that this was no average breeze. He cleared his mouth, noting that it was drier than it was mere seconds ago.

Ohm felt something just behind him, just from the alleyway. It wasn't the piercing glare of an enemy, it wasn't the gentle curiosity that a passerby in extravagant clothes creates, it was something different. Something that could only be described as the feeling that one gets when they miss something important, the odd feeling that presses on your chest as you repeat word after word in your mind, the type that one gets when you think about an argument you had earlier whilst in the shower. He peered down the backstreet to try and make out what it might've been, so that he could avoid that experience.

He lit up his tail light to try and make it out, and in the dim red glow they saw a ghastly figure walking away from them, it had a familiar shape. Something that he knew he'd seen before. It swished and swayed as it walked. "Wait…" Ohm said as he drew nearer to it.

Irukan took a moment to take a closer look before saying, "...Is that...?" As she saw the tails waving through the air.

Slow and shaky steps retreated from them. "...When did you?" Bancho asked as they slowly stalked the figure.

The figure paused at the end of the alley, it was unmistakable.

The figure was Flocon.

The figure slowly turned its head, blood dribbled from his thin visage. There was something unnatural about the scene. His neck had a cut deep enough to have severed his windpipe. His fur stained crimson, so many splotches that left so little room for patches of creamy fur to peek out from their cover. His gaze seemed to be focused on something just past them.

How could he have known?

The trio paused, each mouth held agape, none of them knew what they were looking at. The crimson life seemed to evaporate into the air as it left contact with the body of the Ninetales. His legs seemed to struggle to uphold his body, an instability caused by a laceration dragged across an ankle.

As he fully turned to face them the cut leg seemed to crumple beneath him, sending him to the ground. He flailed about until he found his footing. He slowly rose up once more and asked, «I-is someone there?» His voice bubbled and gurgled with red essence. But buried beneath it was a light and floaty voice, almost noble in its intonation.

Irukan tried to respond. She opened her mouth but shudders seemed to constrict her voice and she closed it soon after.

Flocon was short of breath, he seemed to be swaying where he stood. His orange eyes seemed dull in color and glazed over as he stared unblinkingly towards them. He took a tentative step forward. «Scar..let?» he sounded.

The trio all took a step back in response to Flocon's approach. "Who…" Ohm began but he was forced to take in a gulp before finishing, "…are you?"

The Ninetales seemed to be unfazed by the Ampharos' question, slowly seeming to realize their presence. He backed away, his tails drooped and hid themselves away. He stuttered, each motion seeming to take something from him.

Bancho tried to approach Flocon but he seemed to drift away. Almost as if something was keeping a constant distance between them. His gaze seemed to fidget and shiver, slowly focusing and unfocusing.

He pleaded, «Please…» Flocon teared up as fear took hold of him and wrapped its chain around his throat. He was unable to move, his mouth constantly held agape. The source of the blood was hidden by the darkness but it seemed to flow more freely now than ever before.

Bancho relented for a moment. He seemed unsure of what his next move should be. "I'm not going to hurt you." he said in an attempt to reassure the Ninetales. Though it was unknown as to how successful he was in doing so. Even to mine own perceptions it's quite difficult to ascertain exactly what he might be thinking.

Flocon seemed to relax for but a moment before tensing up once more. «Who… are you?» he asked as he seemed to poise himself for running, the wound on his neck opening up even more. His eyes seemed to return to being alert and open as they darted left and right. «I'll fight you… I swear I will.» he threatened, though it seemed to be a hollow statement as every motion he made suggested quite the opposite. «Just… like that… Weavile… and that N-» He was cut off by a series of coughing as he spluttered blood that evaporated into the atmosphere.

Ohm relented a moment. "Ninetales. Calm down. It's just us, now just stop speaking Sirin." he stated, the Ampharos was confused by Flocon's statement, they may have only known each other for a few days, but certainly his memory wasn't that shoddy.

Flocon's response was nothing more than a puzzled look. It was clear that he had no clue who they were.

Irukan finally coughed up a few words, "How are you alive?" the question hung in the air. But they all knew that there was no possibility that what they were seeing was a corporeal being. They knew that whatever answer he gave they were unlikely to understand.

Flocon's attention snapped to her as he spoke once more, «Why-» he started coughing up blood that seemed to dissipate the second it left his mouth once more before continuing as if nothing happened, «-would you think any different?» His voice was incredulous, as if they were accusing him of something that he was innocent of.

Ohm leaned over to Irukan and asked her, "This is happening, right?" he turned back to face Flocon, who seemed to catch his eye with his own. There was a softness about Flocon's gaze.

The Ampharos took a tentative step forward, holding up his fins so that Flocon could see his every move.

Flocon seemed to give him an interested look with a questioning, "Rrr?" Escaping his lacerated maw as he loosened his stance a bit, though it took quite a bit of effort for him to do so. As Ohm drew nearer, Flocon seemed to react in strange ways.

The Ninetales looked at Ohm as if he were a stranger. As if they'd never met before in their life. The look Flocon gave him was the same look that a curious person might give to a pedestrian across the street that's caught their eye for one reason or another, a detached look of interest that can only be seen in situations such as those.

Ohm finally got within a few feet before the Ninetales perked up. He looked behind him and told them, «Someone's calling me.» He took a moment before staggering back around and limping away.

Ohm stood still for a minute, trying to register what happened. Though he soon tried to run after the Ninetales. "Hold on!" he exclaimed, still having many questions on his mind.

The Ninetales rounded a corner just up ahead. The Ampharos ran to give chase.

But the second he turned the corner. Flocon had vanished. "Hold… on…?" Ohm remarked wistfully with an outstretched fin.

Irukan and Bancho soon caught up. At first they were confused and as they looked up and down the dim backstreet they saw no sign of him. Only adding to the mystery of what might've happened.

The trio stood in silence for but a moment longer. Ohm's fin fell back to his side, he had a look of conflict strewn across his face, his pose took on a defeated look as he stood like a statue in time.

Irukan mouthed a few words before finally saying, "I think it's about time we head back."

Bancho nodded as he gave Ohm a light nudge on the shoulder.

Ohm loitered for a moment longer. He tried to say something but any attempt at it was met with little success.

Returning to the base they had only left an hour or two earlier. They all sat at a table together, unsure of what they should make of the event.

A gentle clicking echoed off the stone tiles. A soft swishing noise whipped the air as they were greeted, "How was your walk?"

Simultaneously jumping at the voice, they all turned around in a panic to see Flocon looking surprised and confused as he slowly backed off. His icy fur flowed as he did so.

A long space of silence ensued. None of them said anything before Flocon finally broke the silence with a bit of a nervous, "Okay then."

Irukan let out a breath and told him, "It's not anything you did. We're all just a little stressed." it was a blatant lie. Or at least she thought it was.

A lie that Flocon easily brought as he did almost every other time. "I get that, I'll give you some space." he predictably responded as he moved past them, keeping a healthy distance between them if anything were to happen.

"That was real, wasn't it?"…

…

…

I knew there was another. You couldn't hide from me forever.

You look from afar, across dimensions and time, but I exist in the lines between the pages. It's only obvious I would catch you at some point.

Though, I find it odd that one such as yourself might continue to read onwards past this.

I believe the term might be "curiosity killed the cat?" Seems about right to me. Though, it can be hard to reason with a cat.

To me, it's rather interesting that one such as you might continue reading past this point. After all, you're intruding on my thoughts, my life, my—well, everything really.

…

…

…

You're still here, aren't you?

You're not welcome here.

You were never welcome here.

Leave.

* * *

This chapter probably gave me the most issues out of any chapter, but I was able to get it done.


	14. Chapter 13: Blood on the Sand

Frukkshin cast a curious glance towards Ohm. "So what you're trying to tell me," he said with a pause before continuing, "is that you, Irukan, and Bancho went for a walk earlier today. And a wind, cold enough to put a sheet of ice on the streets might I add, swept through with no warning?" The Rapidash gave a snort and put his eyes back forwards. "I'm calling bullshit."

Ohm took a moment to mull over the statement and nodded. "Like it or not, that's the truth." he said. "I don't get it either." He cast a somewhat suspicious look towards Flocon, not totally convinced that everything would turn out okay.

Flocon took a moment to think before shaking his head and grunting, he looked up the street and remarked, "Hey, there's a taxi." The sight renewing his energy.

Frukkshin hailed them down and they in turn slowed to a halt, the racket created by wheel on cobblestone silencing as she did so. "Aye." she said in reply.

"Can you take us to the coastline along _La Troisieme Quartiere_?" Frukkshin asked, he didn't seem impatient, but almost excited about something as he spoke rather quickly.

The Mienshao nodded and two of them climbed aboard.

"Eh, Frukkshin, you're not coming up?" Flocon asked as he peered over the sides.

The Rapidash looked up at Flocon and gave a short chuckle. "There's no reason to conserve any energy this time." he replied.

Ohm leaned over and said, "Swallow your damn pride, I should remind you that you need to conserve your energy now more than ever." He was trying to be vague as to not arouse any suspicion from the driver of the cart. Though she didn't seem to acknowledge his statement as she accepted her payment. Ohm simply assumed that this was hardly the first time she overheard some odd conversation.

Frukkshin took a moment before sounding a short, "Right." and clambered aboard with a small pout strewn across his face.

Giving him a confused look as the cart began to move Flocon asked the Rapidash, "Why the long face?"

Frukkshin shot him a scrutinizing look before dropping it and muttering, "If that was on purpose…" his voice trailed off before he finally said, "I just… Well, I don't like being idle for long periods of time." Even now he seemed to be shifting his weight on occasion.

Ohm leaned back and gave the Rapidash a cocky grin and told him, "Don't mind Ninetales, he's just horsing around." And gave a short chuckle.

Frukkshin gave him a flat and unamused voice before stating, "When I die, both of you are going with me…" As he settled into the cart.

Flocon gave the Rapidash a concerned look. Not fully understanding what could possibly be bothering him.

Scenery rolled by the group. Flocon laid down for a moment. He could never really explain it but there was something about this part of the city that just gave him these odd vibes. He gave it a very scrutinizing look as they passed, not at the pokemon but at the buildings themselves, before muttering some incoherent words and resting a bit.

Frukkshin gave him a confused look but decided against saying anything as the sight of their destination began to ebb into his view.

Leaning back for a moment and hearing the rickety cart roll along the cobblestones, Ohm let out a sigh. He seemed a bit tense but he didn't say anything about it, choosing to instead focus on his breathing.

The cart slowly came to a halt as the driver informed them, "We're here."

The three took a moment to realize that she spoke. The cart creaked in relief as they disembarked one by one.

Flocon looked around, it was a strange sight to him, the coast of Galet was surprisingly clean. To his left jutted long wooden docks, lined with ships of varying size along either side. Pokemon moved in and out of these ships with boxes, talking to others and unloading them at a spot, just for another pokemon to come pick up the same box. To his right stood some seaside shops and storage built into the walls.

But that wasn't what he was interested in. Flocon ran through the crowd of pokemon to view the ocean. Its waves lolled to and fro. The sound of each wave crashing into the cement wall filled the air.

He let his nose take in the scent of saltwater as he was lightly sprayed with the briny water. Some of it found its way into his nose, he flinched as the saltwater stung him, but that wasn't enough to disenchant the sight in his eyes.

Ocean as far as the eye could see, and all these ships speaking of untold lands. _What lies across it? What lands might I one day see if I were to travel?_ The thought of adventure crossed his mind and, even if it were for a moment and nothing more, his fears and worries melted into the endless sea. He laid down with his front paws draped over the side as he let himself relax.

Ohm and Frukkshin exchanged a glance. "Just wait until he sees the beach." the Rapidash said with a warm smile.

Ohm nodded as he watched the Ninetales become enamoured with the sight. He let a smile cross his face, something about it didn't seem right, but he smiled nonetheless.

Flocon looked out but felt something, a pang in his thigh. He got up and shook it out and soon enough the mild discomfort faded. Taking some time to look at the spot with some confusion, Flocon looked it over a few times before shrugging and bounding back to the other two. "This is amazing." he exclaimed as he looked around in wonder.

Ohm cleared his throat and in a slightly raspy voice replied. "I never really tire of the ocean itself, but this isn't exactly what we wanted you to see." he coughed a bit more and scratched at his throat.

Looking over to the Ampharos with a bit of worry strewn across his face Frukkshin asked, "Are you feeling alright, Ohm?"

The Ampharos took a few moments to respond before regaining his composure. "I guess my throats a bit sore today is all." he replied. He was nonplussed about the situation as he began walking, motioning for the other two to follow him.

It wasn't long before they descended a staircase dusted in particulate. Reaching the bottom of it, Flocon felt sand flow between his paws. The gentle beaches of Galet stood in front of him as he yipped in glee, bounding through the sand and coming to rest at the beach front.

The waves rolled up to his paws and he instinctively backed off from them, seemingly confused by them. He sniffed the ground in a bit of curiosity only to be surprised when they rolled back up to him.

Frukkshin couldn't help but chuckle and remark, "He's like a child sometimes, eh Ohm… Ohm?" The Rapidash looked over with concern as Ohm appeared to be choking on something.

"Ohm…?" Frukkshin asked as he neared the Ampharos with some worry.

Ohm looked away and retched twice before vomiting. Frukkshin's eyes went wide as he saw blood stain the sand. The Ampharos staggered forwards and fell to his knees. "Ohm!" The Rapidash exclaimed as he turned in a panic towards Flocon, who appeared to have difficulties standing.

Some sort of pain wrenched Flocon's hip and he began to whimper in a panic. Frukkshin ran over to him and looked around as he tried to figure out where the source of the attack was.

There was hardly a pokemon in sight though a few bystanders left in a panic. Flocon found his footing but only barely as an aneurysm in his hind leg sent searing pain through him. He yelped as the vessel threatened to burst.

Ohm managed to weakly call out as he got to his feet, "They have to be nearby."

Frukkshin looked around before nodding. "That may be true, but where?" he considered how they might be hiding themselves. But he came up with nothing.

Flocon stood up and remarked, "There has to be a-" he was cut short as he fell to the ground as blood began to seep from his mouth as well.

Frukkshin's expression darkened before he looked at the sand. "There's a way to find them, hold your breath you two." he instructed them and not a moment later he used his legs to slam the ground, sending a flurry of fine sand particles into the air.

As the dust wafted through, covering everything in a fine coat of sand there appeared to be a strange figure that was invisible before. It was oblong as it floated in the air. The three turned their attention to the strange pokemon.

There was a moment of deliberation on both sides before a wave of static blasted the sand particles off the form. Frukkshin grunted as he immediately blasted a Flamethrower in its direction. But a wave of electricity managed to arc through the hot plasma and directly back into him.

Reeling back in pain as it… bounced off his helmet? Frukkshin stood in confusion for a moment. Instinctively glancing around and shuffling to the side, Frukkshin accidentally stepped into some run-off blood.

It was but a moment when the blood shot up from under him, he dodged out of the way as it left a small cut on his leg. As he touched the ground he momentarily investigated his body, noticing that the blood he stepped in was still stuck to him.

Frukkshin paused for a moment and said, "You can't use whatever trick that is on me, can you?" he let out a huff as he prepared to kick up more dust.

Ohm stood up, pain shooting down his entire body. He started instinctively sparking in pain and soon enough, the pain that flowed through his blood began to fade. "I see," he remarked as the unintentional interference he was creating seemed to stop the pain. "I'm not sure what you're doing, but I know how to stop it."

Ohm looked toward the crumpled and bleeding figure of Flocon and looked around, he waited patiently and heard Flocon groan as he struggled to his feet.

He saw Flocon flinch and launched a Thunderbolt as Frukkshin kicked up a new cloud of dust revealing the figure. Flocon was struck head-on by the intense plasma but whatever momentary protection it gave him far outweighed the negatives of leaving him to fend for himself.

He saw it visibly stagger before fading away once more Flocon ran to their sides to regroup, making sure to glare at Ohm. There was a long lull as the three of them stood still yet ready to lunge at a moment's notice.

It was then that Flocon yelped in pain. Frukkshin looked over to see that a knife had found its way into Flocon's side. In fact, he saw a group of daggers pointed at them.

The trio realized that there was no way to avoid the onslaught of strikes. All but one.

In that very instant Frukkshin's flames began to flare into overdrive, but something about them was different. The color changed from a fiery orange and moved up the electromagnetic spectrum to a brilliant green, increasing in energy as he hyper oxygenated his blood, in a maneuver only called Blastburn-Y.

He reeled back and spewed a Flamethrower that threatened to burn both Flocon and Ohm from five feet away. A fire so intense that it heated the metal to its curie point nigh instantaneously. Ohm grabbed Flocon and the two lunged through the opening created as the aerial knives began to fly. They narrowly avoided all but a few which carved crimson gashes along their sides.

The three left a trail of blood in the sand. Their breathing was heavy from the blood loss as Frukkshin began to glance here and there in search of the enemy. The knives landed strewn about the ground

Frukkshin tilted down to the ground and waited for something to happen. Ohm was faced the other direction trying to keep an eye on Flocon who was trying to look for them as well.

Flocon was desperately searching for some sort of hint, some clue to find them. _They can't just be invisible, there has to be a trick that we're not seeing._ He thought as he leapt out of the way of a needle that shot from the ground. It's when he saw the sheen of metal from it that it started making sense to him. _Magnetism! He must be using some form of magnetism Frukkshin's helmet, knives, blood, needles, all four have iron!_ He then knew from extrapolation that they were using some variation of the same trick to hide themselves.

He looked around his mind for an answer. _But how?_ He thought as they were forced to dodge another onslaught as pins shot into his hip. _Wait. Light can bend around a reflective surface, is it possible that they're using a collection of tiny, mirror-like particles?_

As if to test his theory he told Frukkshin, "If you can get a good hit on him with a Flamethrower, we may be able to win."

Frukkshin, without turning his head, told him, "Perhaps. But how do we find them?"

Ohm gave him the answer, "It's simple." He lunged for a knife and flipped it into the air.

The magnetism took hold as the tip of the blade turned toward their foe. Frukkshin didn't hesitate to launch a Flamethrower.

Just as expected: the particles of iron fused to the flesh of the now revealed Magnezone, the heat causing some issues in his ability to levitate.

The Magnezone beeped in anger as it said, "Just because you found me, doesn't mean I'll lose."

Flocon, Ohm, and Frukkshin showed heavy injuries as the loss of blood began to take its toll on them.

Frukkshin panted as his fire began to red-shift. Flocon and Ohm looked on in horror as he collapsed from exhaustion.

Ohm and Flocon exchanged a short glance. Magnezone attacked, sending a Gyro Ball in their direction, the duo lunged in opposite directions.

Flocon took the shot and fired a Frost Breath directly towards their assassin. The Magnezone couldn't dodge, but still chuckled a bit.

Ohm looked back in horror as the Gyro Ball landed a direct hit on Frukkshin. Sending his limp body backwards.

Flocon completely froze up as he saw this. Oblivious to the impending Thunderbolt fired in his direction.

Ohm rolled into the beam and took the electric shock. "And we won't either." he exclaimed in pain as he used the source of energy to arch his back and fire a concentrated stream of purple fire. The flames wreathed the Magnezone in a searing pain, it was something that seemed to surpass fire, biting directly into his metallic flesh.

Flocon lunged from just behind Ohm to fire the Aurora Beam that would take them out for good. The Magnezone tumbled to the ground, the heat shock crumpling his metallic flesh. He was dead on impact, there was no doubt among any of them.

A few moments passed, then a few more as they tried to catch their breaths. Flocon went over to Frukkshin and tried to stem his bleeding.

Ohm walked over towards him and asked, "Aren't you going to worry about yourself?" he set a fin on the Ninetales arm as he worked on trying to stop his own blood. He remained this way until he noticed that Flocon seemed to have himself covered. In every spot where a wound once stood was now covered in ice. "Clever." He said.

Frukkshin struggled awake after a few moments. He looked himself over to see that his bleeding seemed to have subsided. Finding his footing, he looked up to see Flocon and Ohm seated on the ground.

Flocon looked up to see the Rapidash find his footing and said, "I guess this could've gone better." he chuckled weakly as he got up.

Frukkshin couldn't help but eye the Ninetales curiously. "Do you feel okay?" he asked as he spit out a bit of blood into the sand.

Flocon smiled as he helped Ohm up. "I've been better, but I've been worse." he said, seeming a bit nonplussed about the situation as a whole. "I'm just glad to be alive right now."

Ohm weakly muttered something under his breath before finally saying, "We should get to a clinic. Maybe try and get back later today."

Frukkshin nodded as he slowly hiked up the stairs, Ohm and Flocon not far behind him.

Flocon busied himself with some thinking as they walked, _That had to be another member of Requiem. What do they want with me?_ he gritted his teeth in a mix of anger and frustration, his entire body tensing slightly. Though that face soon faded away as he looked up at his two companions. _The Modern Crusaders, all of them… they're risking everything for me._ Tears began to crawl down his face. _I want to help them, But I'm just… so damn useless. I can hardly fend for myself, I only weighed them down in that fight…_

It wasn't long until they had found a clinic nearby. But something happened.

Flocon's limbs felt heavy. His vision began to tear at the edges. Everything seemed to go silent.

He found himself suddenly in an empty room. "Where… am I?" he asked aloud to no one in particular.

The light above him was blinding but he could see that to his left and right was a window and a door respectively. Flocon found himself laid upon a metal surface. Had he passed out? He did. _When? When did I pass out like that?_ he thought. _I won't put too much thought into that, probably easier that way._

He decided that wherever he was, he was safe. At least for the time being. He laid there, not voicing a word. Something he seemed to be doing a lot of recently.

* * *

Hello once again, I'm just popping by to tell you that the one mystery project I've been working on is ready to be uploaded. It should started either today or tomorrow considering that the holidays are coming up.

As a side note, there's likely to be a few edits to this story soon, either this week or next week to fix some formatting issues and general grammar. So if you see a couple updates, just know that it's not a big deal.

On that note, see you in another two weeks.


	15. Chapter 14: New Doors

It was a quiet day at the base and Sylpheed was in a panic because of it. "They'll be fine." Irukan said.

Fringe looked up from the job board, seemingly confused. "Did something happen?" he asked, walking over to stand beside the two.

Bancho rose from his seat and explained to him, "Flocon, Ohm and Frukkshin haven't yet returned."

Fringe flinched at the statement, but did his best to hide it, Sylpheed was quiet, showing very little response. Fringe pulled Bancho aside and asked him, "Do you know where they might've gone off to? I know they were together."

"The beach." Bancho answered with a nod.

Fringe, almost as if he were picking up on something nigh undetectable, said, "I doubt they're dead, maybe if they went off alone. But Frukkshin and Ohm, they're some of the best fighters here." he gave him a smile though something about it seemed off.

Bancho nodded, his visage softening a slight bit. "Then they're most likely near there." He scratched the back of his head in thought, but came up with nothing more than that.

Fringe relented for a moment before saying, "Well, I did have information for him, but that might have to wait." he turned towards Sylpheed and Irukan. "I need you two to go to _La Troisieme Quartiere_ and look for any signs of the three of them." he turned his attention back to Bancho and stated, "You and I will search near to the base."

Sylpheed looked up before nodding slowly. "Yeah." she said.

Irukan cast a worried look towards her. _I've never seen her in a state this bad._ she thought as she let the Lurantis slink past her towards the door.

The four of them split without parting words as they exited the building.

Irukan and Sylpheed hailed a taxi to get to where they needed to go quickly.

As they rolled down the street, the Dragalge took the time to gaze out the side of the cart. "They're alive, I know they are." she said in an attempt to comfort Sylpheed.

The Lurantis was unresponsive to her. Her face was saddened and it took a few moments before she finally spoke, "How do you know?"

Irukan leaned back. _How do I know?_ she thought, she didn't doubt her own words but she couldn't quite explain why. "I would know." she said, and that was the only way she could explain it, she just knew, she felt that they were alive.

Sylpheed seemed to brighten up a bit at this statement, she gave a sorrowful smile. "I guess you're right." she said. "I guess it's like how I was with you." she idly clicked her claws together as she spoke, the chitin making a small clicking noise.

Irukan flinched at the statement. "Yeah." her voice was quieter than before. _I suppose she's not wrong. She… damnit,_ she gripped the edge of the cart so hard she thought the aged wood might splinter under her clasp. _I owe so much to her. Why? Why can't I just comfort her, just this once?_ She thought as she grit her teeth.

Sylpheed went silent at her companions body language, Irukan looked like a cobra, poised and ready to strike. "Irukan, what's the matter?"

These words seemed to calm her down. She couldn't explain it either. No. She very well could explain it but she refused to let herself remain on the matter of how it affected her so.

"I'm not sure." she lied, and she hated those words that she said. _Damnit, if only. If only I could tell them everything._ She thought bitterly as tears began to stream down her face.

The taxi ground to a halt as she finally regained her composure. She disembarked wordlessly. There was nothing else she had to say on the matter.

A few moments passed before Sylpheed began to walk. Irukan followed her. "There has to be something we can look for. Some trace of them that we can follow." Irukan said, her voice was nervous.

Sylpheed said, "They may have gotten injured." Her emotions seemed to partially mirror that of the Dragalge's.

"Injured?" Irukan seemed to mull over that statement until she finally said, "A hospital maybe? But where?" She looked around and saw that the streets were narrow and packed with pokemon. There was now way they could find the right one, not in these conditions at least.

Sylpheed was already on it. "We need to get to higher ground." she said ass he began weaving through the crowd.

Irukan couldn't help but let a small smile cross her face as she followed behind the Lurantis.

Entering into an alley, it wasn't long before the two started climbing the side of a building.

Once they were on top of the roof. Irukan began scanning the area for any possible signs of a struggle. "Fringe said they were going to the beach, maybe we can go there and work forwards." Irukan said, though here eyes continued to scan the street, Ninetales stuck out due to his ghastly appearance and bright blue coat. He should be easy to spot for her trained eyes.

Sylpheed piped up a reply, "Yeah," she seemed a touch happier though. "This was kinda like the time we first met."

Irukan visibly flinched though there was no way for Sylpheed to know, her gaze preoccupied with how they might cross the rooftops. It wasn't exactly legal for them to be up there, but no one really bothered looking up or if they did, they didn't really care.

Sylpheed pointed a claw. "If Soma's right. If we jump the gap between the building and the next, we should easily be able to see the beach." she said. Her voice was still quite soft, but she seemed fine to raise it somewhat to catch the attention of Irukan.

Irukan peered over and nodded her silent agreement. _Just like when we first met?_ She thought as they jumped one after the other. A solemn expression plastered itself across her face. _In a sense perhaps. But, this time I'm not… no._ she shook the thought out of her head before she finished it. If knowing exactly what would come next was enough to let a tear slide down her cheek, finishing it was bound to disable her.

Landing on the next roof over. The brick shingles of the barely slanted roof proved a bit loose, as Sylpheed nearly fell as one slid out from beneath her, she caught herself with her claws and kept going. Irukan lunged forward to catch the shingle before it could injure anyone on the streets below. Setting it roughly where it should've been.

Sylpheed looked back for a moment, she didn't say anything, but a remorseful look fell across her face. Irukan sighed and caught up to her.

From here they could both see not only the crowd of pokemon finding their way down the streets, but that the beach was sectioned off. A blockade of Falinks had been formed as the brass spoke to the gathering audience of pokemon.

They didn't need to get any nearer to the scene to know this was exactly what they were looking for. "They can't be too far now." Irukan mused as she looked up and down the streets.

Sylpheed followed suit, though she moved over by one building to try and get a better viewing angle. Getting down on her knees and raising her claws to block the sun from her vision she scanned the streets below them.

Irukan grunted after a few moments and called over, "I don't see any awning that might indicate a clinic, nor do I see Ninetales." She stood up and adjusted her back a bit.

Sylpheed nodded in time as she jumped back over to stand next to the Dragalge.

Irukan turned over to face her and sighed. "They're nearby, if there was any death involving Ninetales, word would have gotten out by now." she said. "There has to be a clinic nearby."

Wasting hardly a moment, Sylpheed began to walk around the perimeter of the building. She was mumbling to herself, possibly in thought. It wasn't long until she idly caught sight of a fire in motion.

She got down in her previous scanning position and motioned Irukan over to take a look. The Dragalge slithered over and squinted. If it was Frukkshin she'd catch the glint off of his helmet. However the shadow of the building prevented her from completely confirming that.

She grunted before saying, "He'll cross an alley just ahead, we'll know for certain once he does." as she jumped the rooftop back to the old building. Irukan figured she had time so she lifted the shingle on the opposite side and put it back into place, after all, it wasn't her issue that the roof was a bit creaky.

By the time she returned there were only moments left before he crossed the thin sliver of light. Once he did there was the confirmation from a glint of sunlight bouncing off polished metal.

Irukan smiled. "It's him alright." she said as she began to work on climbing down from her perch.

Sylpheed perked up as her ally's words touched her ears, she got up and immediately followed Irukan down.

Once they were on the street, they only had to look for his flame. A warm light of sorts to guide them through the crowds of pokemon on both sides of the streets.

It wasn't long before they found the trio, bandages criss crossed them here and there but they could walk.

Frukkshin had Flocon slung over his back like a throw rug. With Ohm following close behind. The Ampharos being the first to pick up on their arrival. "Irukan? Sylpheed? What are you two doing here?" he asked.

Irukan sighed in relief. "I'm glad to see you're all alive." she began. "Fringe needs to see Ninetales, he didn't really tell me why though." she motioned towards Flocon as she said this, who gave a weak grunt in response.

Sylpheed seemed to wince at their appearance. "It seems like it didn't go too well." she said as they all began to walk back.

Flocon smiled weakly. "Yeah, the surprise attack was pretty terrible." he said, then chuckled. "But I have to admit, the ocean was breathtaking." he said.

Irukan couldn't help but smile internally at what was being talked about. _Perhaps he didn't have the best time of things, but I'm glad to see he's focusing on the positives._ She thought.

Frukkshin couldn't help but turn his head and laugh a bit. "Glad to see someone came out of that feeling good." he said as he began to focus forwards once more, trotting along at a pace that was comfortable to him.

Ohm sighed. "Fringe must've been worried sick." he muttered sorrowfully. The statement seemed to be aimed at himself more than anyone else.

Irukan couldn't help but shrug and say, "What matters to me at the end of the day is that you're alive." she gave him a pat on the back. To which he responded quickly with a cough.

Ohm's ears fidgeted a bit as he sounded, "Yeah, yeah." in response. He seemed a bit irritated but said nothing more on the matter.

Sylpheed looked back behind them, possibly to make sure that there was no one following them, and mentioned, "The mess at the beach then…" she didn't finish her sentence.

Frukkshin nodded. "Not exactly the best for a tourist attraction, luckily tourist season isn't for a couple of months." he said with a bit of a joking half-smile.

Flocon perked his ears up at that, though he didn't really speak due to the pain it brought him in doing so.

Sylpheed noticed this and said, "It gets busy around summer and spring. Though I think the city is much prettier once winter comes."

Flocon unsteadily raised his head, he had to know. "Winter?" he asked.

Irukan sighed and muttered, "I'm surprised that concept isn't racking around in your head." She remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Well, that's the time when it starts snowing of course."

Irukan looked over and saw the confused look Flocon was giving her so she decided to tell him a bit more, "When the first snowfall comes, it's like nothing else, I'm sure you'll love it. The snow flakes—little crystals of ice—falling from the sky and the gentle chill in the breeze, never too cold like the late winter." Her voice sounded entranced by her own words, vaguely excited even.

Flocon smiled a bit and remarked, "I must say that I look forward to seeing it then." before letting his head droop back down and sighing. Letting himself rest a bit.

Ohm couldn't help but let a thin smile cross his lips as he remarked, "I'm sure you'll love it Ninetales." he muttered something to himself as he finished his sentence.

The Amapharos was on the opposite side of Frukkshin, so Flocon simply huffed and said, "Thank you Ampharos."

Ohm waved his fin and told him, "You know what? You did pretty good back there, call me Ohm from here on out, full name's Ohm H. Volta but don't worry about that." he gave a small, "Hmph." and a smile even though there was no way for Flocon to see it.

That didn't stop his tails from weakly wagging in response. "Then call me Flocon, Flocon Septembre." he said.

Frukkshin couldn't help but smile as he looked back at Flocon, then at Ohm. "Well, that's certainly one way to lift his spirits. Don't you think Flocon?" he said with a cocky grin.

A few moments of silence passed by them. "Hey, Flocon, nothing to say in response?" Frukkshin asked as he bucked up slightly to get the attention of the Ninetales.

Flocon shook out his head as he sounded, "Huh?" he raised his head and told him, "I think I blanked out for a moment there. Did you say something?" he gave a nervous smile as he spoke.

Frukkshin turned his head forward and sighed, saying, "Don't worry about it."

"He was just being an asshole." Irukan chuckled weakly as she said this.

Sylpheed couldn't help but give a half-joking response, "Frukkshin, you're so mean sometimes." she crossed her claws and tried to hide a chuckle.

But Ohm had something far different spelled across his face. He stroked his chin for a moment, his brow furrowed with concern. "Flocon, are you well?" he asked.

Flocon smiled internally as he said, "I've been better, just making a slow recovery is all." He gave a somewhat weak cough at that. "We'll just have Sylpheed fix me up when we get back."

Ohm sighed and said, "Yeah." Though he didn't seem like he was fully prepared to drop the conversation altogether he looked more than ready to at least set it aside for the time being.

It was only a few minutes later that they got to a place where they could hail down a taxi to take them back to their base. Though Frukkshin opted to walk on the side. "Saves money, and I get a bit of exercise." he told them.

Once they returned to base, Sylpheed, Irukan and Ohm helped load Flocon back onto Frukkshin's back as he carried him up the stairs.

With only minor complaints and minimal issues, they all stumbled through the door.

After they all had a moment to settle down, Irukan said, "Fringe and Bancho were going to search near base, I'll go out and find them." before anyone could do or say otherwise, she had left the building. Leaving only four pokemon in the base.

Sylpheed took Frukkshin aside to offload Flocon so she could get to work. And Ohm—with nothing else to do—followed them to the medical bay.

Taking a few moments to offload Flocon and get him comfortable, Sylpheed said, "Alright, this will sting." as she slowly unwrapped the bandages off Flocon.

A few moments passed and Sylpheed didn't do anything, a confused look crossing her face. There was quite a bit of scabbing and scar tissue as she brushed his fur aside to get a better look, that was to be expected. But everyone turned their head when she asked, "I may not know much about Ninetales. But do they normally have these dark patches?" She looked up in genuine confusion that told all of them that she wasn't joking.

Ohm rose from his seated position to take a look, the smell was repulsive, but he couldn't take his eyes away from it. It couldn't have been a winter coat, Flocon was an Ice-type. Ohm took a moment to feel it, Flonon winced in response but let him brush it.

It completely confirmed the suspicions of the Ampharos, it was too wiry to have been a winter coat. The fur was dark indigo in color and seemed to go in a long stripe before suddenly ending. "What does this mean?" he asked mostly to himself.

Almost as if he were possessed by some sort of ghost, Ohm's face twisted into one of horror as he slowly turned to Flocon and asked. "Would you mind if I checked something?" his words were slow and tense.

The Ninetales gave him a somewhat concerned look. "Sure?" he said.

Ohm slowly walked up to the Ninetales and brushed the cold fur on his neck aside for a moment. His breathing was tense as he dared to brush aside the final strands.

Wiry fur.

In a streak across his neck.

Passing across the windpipe.

Ohm froze up. Slowly, he pulled his fin away.

Before the soft fluff fell back into place, he saw the same color of Indigo fur that he saw on Flocon's back.

Frukkshin and Sylpheed gave him a worried look. "What's the matter?" Frukkshin questioned.

Ohm tried to cover up what he saw with a simple, "It's nothing." but it was clear to all three of them that something was wrong.

There was a pause before someone finally spoke up, "Look, if there's something bothering you, now's the time to say it." Frukkshin slowly rose to his feet to stand beside Ohm as he spoke. His flame emitting a much gentler heat than it did yesterday.

Ohm looked up at him, staring directly into Frukkshin's eyes. He took a moment to think. A conflicted appearance slid across his visage. He waited for a few moments, not sure how to respond to the comforting smile Frukkshin was trying to give him until he finally found a way to speak up, "It's that thing I saw two days ago, the one I was telling you about at the beach… I'm not sure how to say it, but here it is."

Ohm walked over to Flocon, who gave him a curious look in response. "There was more than just a chill breeze. There was a… something at the very least, it looked like Flocon, but it was ghastly in appearance, as if it were dead." Ohm glanced down to see the oddly flecked eyes of Flocon staring back at him curiously before continuing, "There was a gash deep enough to sever the windpipe, and Flocon has that same indigo fur right where it was on that vision. I didn't think much of it at the time but it can't be a coincidence. But what does it even mean? Because I certainly don't know." he sighed and let his fins drop to his sides, signaling that he was finished.

Sylpheed lightly brushed away the fur where Ohm went to investigate, and sure enough, it was just as it had been left. Frukkshin leaned over and nodded, it was no illusion, the fur was real.

"What does this even mean?" Sylpheed asked, they all turned to face her, the same question hanging off their tongues.

Frukkshin mulled it over for a few seconds before stating, "I wish I had the answer to that… but I know this much: this is much bigger than we originally thought." he turned to Flocon and nodded. "But I'm willing to continue and I'm sure everyone else is too." his voice became much quieter and calmer, soothing even before he said, "Don't worry Flocon, we'll figure this out. I'm sure everything will turn out fine, you just gotta stick with us.."

Flocon gave a light wag of his tails before asking, "Then, what next?" his brow furrowed a bit, a bare whimper escaping his maw.

Frukkshin chuckled and said, "Come now, let us worry about that for the time being. You need to worry about yourself every now and then."

"And how do I do that?" Flocon asked with a tilt of his head. "Isn't that selfish?"

Ohm sighed and said, "Being selfless all the time is difficult. You got beat up out there yesterday, and the day before that wasn't much better for you. Look, just take some time to relax for once, you're safe here." He crossed his fins and gave him a small smile.

"I'm not sure I get it." Flocon's ears drooped down as he said this. "It just doesn't feel right to me."

Sylpheed hummed a bit before asking, "Well, what is right to you?"

Flocon paused, he took a moment to think about it. "I'm… not sure." he couldn't find an answer. Or maybe not that, he gulped as he thought, _I don't know what that means, I always thought of right and wrong as objective. Does it really change depending on the pokemon?_

Frukkshin chuckled. "Well then, take some time off and find your truth. Figure out what you believe in, that's something I can't help you with." he said with a warm smile.

Flocon laid back down and relaxed his muscles. "I'll keep that in mind. If you're ready to patch me up Sylpheed… I'm ready, I think." he sighed as his tails drooped off the side of the table he was on, the tips barely brushing the floor.

There was a long pause as Sylpheed's claws were enveloped in that familiar green light. "Just tell me if it becomes too much." she said before lightly touching him at the wound.

The soft throbbing pain became sharp and powerful as Flocon stifled back a yipe. Sylpheed waited a few moments before moving to another wound. Then another. And another.

And soon enough she had them all healed up, no matter how agonizing it was to do so. She sighed and said, "If there was a better way to do this, I would go out of my way to learn it." She seemed to be in a bit of pain herself over the sight of her allies in a bit of shock, their muscles still not having fully relaxed.

As they began to slowly rise again Irukan came back through the door of the medical bay. "They're back now. Fringe asked for Ninetales, Frukkshin and Sylpheed." before exiting just as suddenly as she entered.

Flocon let out a breath. "I felt my heart jump into my throat." he said.

Ohm gave him a funny look before asking, "You mean 'out of my chest.' Right?"

"I think that would be much more painful." he said.

Frukkshin couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter. "Well, we shouldn't keep him waiting." he said as he began walking out of the room.

Sylpheed looked at Flocon, shrugged, and walked out.

Ohm and Flocon shared a look before the Ninetales jumped down from the table, following the two of them closely behind.

Coming to the door of Fringe's office, Frukkshin tapped the door a few times with his horn. Flocon gave him a studious look as he did so. _I guess that's how._ he thought with a sigh, Frukkshin giving him a somewhat confused look as all of that happened.

Fringe opened the door and studied each of them individually before he said, "Come on in, there's a lot to talk about." He opened the door a bit more to let them pass through.

When the three got situated and Fringe got back to his desk, they finally began. Fringe casually pointed towards Flocon and said, "I'm not about to scold you about disappearing, however, I'd ask that you take more care in the future."

Flocon remained silent, instead responding with a nod. Though, he seemed to loosen up a bit as he heard those words.

"As for what this is about: it has to do with Ninetales himself and his particular typing." Fringe said as he sat down in a chair and leaned forward, his head resting on his ragged hands.

Frukkshin replied, "His Ice and possibly Fairy-typing I assume? I've wondered about it too." he seemed to be speaking respectfully, however the bluntness threw Flocon off.

Fringe nodded and waited for a moment or two before continuing, "In more recent years, forms have started to arise, pokemon that look incredibly similar to others, but differ in enough ways to identify them as a subspecies of sorts." He got up and pulled a small booklet from a drawer in his desk and set it on the table and told them with a thin smile, "Ohm recommended this book to me. The term is Subspeciation, it occurs in many ways, you may have heard of Z-Move Potential, and Mega Evolution, these fall under the same umbrella." he paused for a moment.

Sylpheed took the break as a chance to ask a question, "This, uh… you know what I'm going to say, why does it happen?" she cocked her head.

Fringe chuckled and replied, "It seems to be some sort of trait, passed from generation to generation. Not only that, but it has been noted that most pokemon that have experienced Subspeciation are… hm, how do I put this?" he muttered as he groped his chin. "They seem to have unstable emotions. More like a feral pokemon than a domestic one."

Flocon cocked his head. "Then how do I fit into this?" he asked. He craned his neck to look at the cover of the book as he spoke.

"Well, I'm not sure if you've noticed," Fringe began as he motioned towards Flocon. "Ninetales here doesn't seem to fit any of the descriptors that could be used to identify them. I'm not entirely sure what to make of it, but if an Ice-type Ninetales had been observed prior, it would've been mentioned at some point." he cleared his throat for a moment before continuing, "This means that there's one of two options, either Ninetales is some part of an undiscovered tribe of Ice-type Ninetales, or that there's something very special about him. Once again, I'm not sure what any of this means, other than that there's something happening." he breathed out and leaned back, indicating that he was finished.

Frukkshin chuckled lightly under his breath. "It seems like every time we take a step forward we end up in more darkness than we started." he remarked.

Fringe nodded. "Quite." he stated before turning back to Flocon. "I've managed to find someone who'd be willing to cover for you if you went into _La Premiere Quartiere_, I'll start getting the plan together. Unless there's any questions or concerns, you are all dismissed." he stated.

Frukkshin and Flocon nodded, getting out of their chairs to grab a job off the board for the day. Flocon turned back to see that Sylpheed remained seated. "We'll get ready, you'll know where to find us." Flocon said as he followed Frukkshin out of the room.

Sylpheed nodded and turned back towards Fringe and asked, "I remember that you were given a job to hunt down Flocon, who was the client?"

Fringe adjusted in his seat. "I never considered that…" his voice trailed off as he tried to recall who gave him the job in the first place. "Let's see, I believe it was a Noivern. He took a strange interest in Ninetales, claimed that he was the cause of the murder. I didn't really get a name from him." he explained as he leaned back in his chair.

"Noivern?" Sylpheed pondered aloud. She tapped the underside of her chin with a claw before saying, "At the cafe there was a Noivern in that group. I remember Flocon taking a strange interest in him as well."

Fringe waited a moment before tilting his head to the side. "Cafe?" his voice trailed off as he tried to place this information before saying, "Wait, I remember now, I must've gotten side-tracked when I asked it. You're saying there was a Noivern there as well who also took an interest in Ninetales?"

"Well, there were three others aside from him, a Reuniclus, a Mawile and a Staraptor." she explained. "All of them seemed to know Flocon, one way or another."

Fringe leaned back. "Odds are he's the same Noivern, he may not be, but it seems to be likely. Thank you Sylpheed, I believe we have another thread to follow."

The Lurantis nodded as she left her seat. "I'll be off then." she said as she exited the room.

After they all left, Fringe leaned forward in thought. "If what Irukan told me earlier is true, about that cold wind and seeing another Ninetales. Then something is happening, I'm not sure what it is or what it means, but whatever it is, it's far greater than anyone could've imagined." he grabbed a stack of papers and exited his room for the time being. He waited a moment before muttering, "It may be time for drastic measures. Who is this Noivern? And what are his allegiances?"


	16. Chapter 15: No Reply

Fringe sat down at his desk, filing documents, letters, and the like. _Never anything fun about this, but I suppose someone has to do this job._ he thought with a dry chuckle.

He rose from his seat at his desk, grabbing a few of the letters as he did and walked out of his room. Phasing through the hidden door and walking down the cut stone stairs into the lobby.

It was a much quieter day than usual. He waltzed on over to the mailbox for the apartment and withdrew a key from a pocket he had sewn onto his ragged body. _I suppose being a Banette has its perks every now and again._ he considered as he opened the small brass hatch and withdrew the mail from it with only slight difficulty.

He grabbed the other handful of letters and set them into the letter box as he took some time to mentally note, _If this guild thing ever happens, there'll have to be a faster way to do this._ Taking a few seconds to look around, he locked the box tight and returned up the stairs. _Well, if I'm still around by then._

As he walked up he slipped on a stair and dropped a note. "Damnit." he muttered as he leaned over to pick it up. It was addressed to Flocon, he waited a moment and with his curiosity getting the best of him, he sat down on the stairs. After setting aside the small stack of notes he turned over the folded letter a few times. Resting his head on one of his hands he held the note at an arm's length, letting it hang from a corner, and simply looked at it for a while, unsure of what to make of it.

The note itself seemed to be in impeccable condition when compared to the others they had received prior. No matter how hard he looked he saw no sign of any return address. He set it on top of the letters and told himself, _This is the second time this has happened, the first time was with the doctor. Considering how that went, it would be unwise to even show Ninetales this letter with how easily he walked into that trap. _he considered before letting out a sigh.

He reached over and picked up the stack. Straightening his back as he stood back up. He then began to ascend the steps once again.

Arriving at the hidden door, he sighed to himself. Too tired to deal with moving it he smacked the stack of papers as an eerie glow began to surround them. He took a few steps back and leaped forwards to phase through the wall with the stack in tow.

He let out a small sound of triumph as he walked to the center of the room and took a seat at the nearest table.

Setting aside the papers into multiple stacks to organize them, he set aside the ads to be used as firestarters to light the oven.

His eye fell onto the folded note again. He hesitated for a moment as he picked it up once more. He held it uncertainly before setting it aside. _No, I can't be the one to open it. This is Ninetales' letter, that choice belongs to him._ he decided.

He waited a moment before sighing, while there were stacks of papers for a few job requests. There remained only the lone letter in the pile of personal documents.

But that letter addressed to Flocon, he knew it wasn't from a family member or friend. He staggered the stacks before retiring to his office. _I suppose we're a family for a reason._ he considered as he sat down at his desk.

Fringe pushed the papers to the side for the time being as he reminisced a small bit. He rose from his seat and smiled sadly. _Maybe that's why I wanted to help that Ninetales._ he thought as he leaned onto the table, his back facing the edge of it.

He tossed his gaze skywards as he continued to think, _None of us had a place to go, that's why we're here._ He turned his gaze back to the lone message. _I'm alright with that, I just wonder if everyone else is._

He closed his eyes. _Maybe I worry a little too much, perhaps I don't worry enough._ He thought with a sigh as he began to reflect. _I always tense up every time Frukkshin isn't back before the end of the day. He looks like he's been better recently, but I worry that he won't be coming back one of these days… _he paused his train of thought there, tears starting to stain the fabric that was his skin. He pulled out a cloth and wrung out the wetness from under his eyes into it and just hoped that it would either evaporate before anyone got back or became almost invisible on the dark cloth.

Gripping the edge of the table even harder than previously, he just stood there for a good few minutes as he stared at the ceiling. His thoughts were cut off by the familiar sound of the door being opened. "Hmm?" he sounded as he floated over to check it out.

Frukkshin waltzed in with Flocon on his back, an all too familiar sight by now, with Sylpheed lagging behind by a few feet. "Before you ask, no, it didn't go well." Frukkshin said dryly as he toted the Ninetales off to the infirmary.

Flocon let out a small grunt as he was carried off. Fringe turned to Sylpheed and said, "Attend to Ninetales first." he turned around but quickly caught himself. "Actually, I'll be right over to talk to him." he said with a nod.

Sylpheed nodded and walked off after the two.

Fringe sighed and turned the corner to his room. Pushing open the door and arriving at his desk for but a few moments to grab the letter for Flocon. _This can't be good, but it's his decision to make._ he convinced himself as he walked through the halls towards the infirmary. He seemed a bit defeated but, standing next to the doorway, he shook off the expression and put on a more formal one.

He walked in to see Sylpheed slowly working on healing Frukkshin.

Flocon looked up from his little spot on a table. He tilted his head and let out a small, confused grunt.

Fringe smiled inwardly as he stepped forward and handed Flocon the letter. "This was sent to you, what you do with it is up to you." he said as Flocon accepted the letter in his maw.

Flocon set down the letter and fiddled for a few minutes to work it open. _Maybe I should've offered to open it._ Fringe thought as he watched Flocon finally get the envelope open and read it.

Sylpheed peered over and remarked, "Is that even Galetian?" before returning to her job.

Fringe gave her an odd look but walked over to Flocon, who seemed to be reading it without an issue. "Says here I got 'special eyes' and that they want to find out why… says it's…" Flocon's voice trailed off as he reread a section. "'Mutually beneficial,' whatever they mean by that."

Fringe gave Flocon an odd look, the text wasn't written in Galetian. He immediately recognized it as Sirin. And Flocon was reading it as if it were his primary language. _Interesting, then he's definitely part of La Premiere Quartiere, but he speaks Galetian just as easily… odd, that's the only way I can put it._ He considers.

Flocon eventually tucked away the letter as Frukkshin finally got healed up as he got off the table. "What sort of disaster-in-waiting is it this time?" he remarked with a snort as he saw Flocon with a letter in front of him.

Fringe ignored Frukkshin's remark and finally answered Flocon, "Well, they're not wrong about it being mutually beneficial. But-"

"-It sounds like another trap." Frukkshin finished. "Look Flocon, we might have something to gain from it, but you might be seriously injured."

Flocon gave him a short and simple answer, "I'm willing to take that risk." Before crossins his paws. Almost as if he were preparing for a proper debate to take place.

Frukkshin gave him the argument he was looking for, "And what do you have to gain from that risk?" his voice was interrogative, albeit slightly concerned.

Stuttering moment with a, "uh- I." Flocon then said, "We could find important information about my past. Is that not why I'm here?"

Frukkshin stared at him in disbelief for a moment before retorting, "Look, you might be wandering into a death trap, they might want your head for all we know."

"Well, at least I'd be done with this!" Flocon exclaimed "At least then I won't have to put up with this anymore." Silence ensued, everyone stared at Flocon in stunned silence that seemed to last for far longer than anyone was comfortable with.

Frukkshin's demeanor changed for a moment. "Flocon," he began as he strode up to meet him. "don't… whatever you do… don't be like me." those were his last words before he turned and left the room in silence.

Flocon paused a moment before frowning. He didn't know what to say in response to something like that. Was there anything to say?

Fringe stepped aside for Frukkshin and allowed him to leave the room while Sylpheed watched from a corner.

Meekly, Sylpheed said, "I… should go check on him." before hastily exiting the room. Half-running past Fringe into the hall.

Fringe and Flocon were left alone together. The Banette stood there for a few moments to watch Sylpheed leave the room before telling Flocon, "Something tells me you're still not convinced."

The Ninetales looked up and nodded. "I feel like I have to go." he said, his voice was small and unsure.

Fringe approached and leaned on the table that Flocon laid atop and said, "No one's forcing you." In an attempt to comfort Flocon.

The Ninetales paused for a moment. "Then… why am I here?" he asked as he looked in almost random directions. "This is what I'm here for right? To figure out my past… but the way that Frukkshin spoke. I don't get it… why does he care?" He seemed lost somehow.

The words struck Fringe like a knife plunging into his chest. _What sort of…_ his train of thought went in every direction yet seemed to go nowhere. _Of course we care… he's a pokemon just like us, no matter how strange he might be._ Is what he wanted to say. But he was practically in shock over the words.

Flocon looked over at him and rested his head on the table. "Is there… am I doing something wrong?" he asked.

Giving a small and slightly sad smile, Fringe told him, "Only you can ever know the answer to that. Frukkshin's… never been in the best of shape. He has yet to truly move past…" Fringe paused for a moment, trying to find his words. "It'd probably be better if he told you directly about what's ailing him."

Flocon shook his head. "There's a lot I don't get about this… why can I trust you but not them?" his question was genuine as he put a paw on the letter in front of him.

_The answer really is that he shouldn't even trust us. The offer's similar, the idea of mutually benefitting… I'd like to think that I'm an honest pokemon._ he considered. "Only you can be the judge of that." he replied.

"Well, to be honest with you, I'm not a very good judge." he said with a breath out as he laid his head on the table. Flocon seemed somehow saddened by everything that had happened. "Here I am, pouring my heart out over something that might not even matter in a day or two."

_I remember thinking that it was time to take drastic measures… have I really forgotten that there's a pokemon's life that may be in jeopardy here?_ he thought as he paused for a moment or two. Contemplating what to say. "Ninetales, listen to me, every choice has weight. Every action has a consequence." he began. "If these pokemon are the same senders as last time, then it might be dangerous."

"I remember, Bancho said that it wasn't a trap…" he muttered.

_But it was… Bancho usually has such a level head, why would he say something like that? Was he being facetious?_ he considered as he adjusted his position to be a bit more comfortable. _No, there's no way, Bancho's never joked about that in the past. I may have known both him and Ohm for a few years. But I barely understand either of them when they're near each other._ Fringe thought with a thoughtful frown as he groped the fabric below his chin.

Flocon looked up in a bit of confusion. "Is something wrong?" he asked.

Fringe gave him a quick reply, "Nothing, just thinking." he said as he turned to face Flocon. They stood there in silence for a while before Fringe finally said, "Whatever you choose, the decision is yours. Just make sure it's the decision you feel you won't regret." As he pivoted on his heel to leave the room.

Flocon looked at the letter, then back towards Fringe. "I'll go. I want to help as much as I'm able and if that means I have to go into a dangerous situation, then I will. I can't just be sitting here and taking it." he said with resolution. "I'll be careful, if things start to look bad, then I'll gladly turn back."

Fringe paused for a moment and said, "Well, that's quite the attitude you have about this." he turned back around. "I'm glad to hear you're going to be looking out for yourself." he took a moment to consider, _I wonder what changed? Perhaps the conversation did have an effect after all… _Before stepping out of the room.

Flocon leaped down from his table and gave a triumphant grunt before remembering that he had a letter he needed to keep with him for the time being. Using two fore paws on the top of the table to hoist himself up and a bit of fiddling with his mouth Flocon managed to grip the letter in his maw. After letting out another, equally triumphant, grunt he walked out of the room with a skip in his step.

When he came out to the hallway, he saw that Fringe was standing in the doorway to the room where he, Frukkshin and Sylpheed usually sleep. A few seconds passed before he walked away, meeting Flocon's eyes for but a moment.

Flocon walked further to see what the commotion was about.

Frukkshin was crying over this orb of obsidian. Flocon's tails drooped at the sight. He stood there with indecision plastered on his face. Should he approach? Should he leave? It wasn't until he sulked away that he made his choice

But he hadn't a clue if he had made the right one.

Flocon bumped into Fringe who turned around and gave him a solemn look. _I think he gets it._ Fringe thought as he viewed Flocon's stance. _It's never easy to lose someone… even if he doesn't understand our rituals, he feels it._

Flocon gave a moment of pause and gazed sadly at Fringe, before continuing to walk away.

Sylpheed snuck up on Fringe, lightly tapping his shoulder with a claw. "Will Frukkshin be okay?" she asked.

Fringe stood for a moment before he answered honestly, "I don't know."

Sylpheed came forward for only a moment, her claw outstretched as if she were reaching for someone. But she relented and backed away sadly before walking past him and into the lounge.

Fringe waited a moment. _I hate having to do that… being that honest. I know it helps them in the long run, but damn does it hurt._ He thinks as he pivots on his heel and begins walking. _Is this why I hole myself up here all day?_ he considers as he walks past Sylpheed and Flocon.

Flocon looked up at Sylpheed as she sat down with him. She seemed bleary eyed and the Ninetales wasn't doing much better all things considered.

She peered up to meet Flocon's gaze and told him, "Flocon, help him." she put a claw on his shoulder. "I don't know why… but I think you might be one of the few that can." she kicked the ground idly for a few moments before continuing. "What's the term, 'neutral party'? Well, that's you."

"I wouldn't call myself neutral." Flocon responded, the letter sitting in front of him with his ears dropped at the sides of his head. "I'm part of this… rescue team, yeah, that. I'd say I'm good." he answered, not really getting what Sylpheed was getting at but trying his best to answer.

Sylpheed chuckled and withdrew into herself. "I guess that's why I trust you then." she said in reference to his ignorance of these terms, she smiled, though it was bittersweet. "I know how the others look at me… what they think of me. Maybe I am a bit insane." she paused for a moment. "But you… you don't get that. You don't have anything to tell you how to act, what to do." her voice trailed off.

Flocon gave her a blank expression before loosing a small frown across his face. "I-I guess so?" he replied with uncertainty lacing his voice.

Sylpheed let out a half-smile. "You don't need to understand it. But… I think that sort of attitude might be the only thing helping Frukkshin, he's gotten better recently." She let her legs go and crossed them but she still seemed small as she leaned on the table. "At least I think he has."

_Non-judgemental, that's the word you're looking for._ Fringe thought as he tore his eyes and ears off their conversation. _Ninetales' memories are entirely screwed, he doesn't have any bias to work off, no prior experiences to make sense of. But she's right, and it may be the only thing he has._ he thought as he continued on to his office.

_I don't think Frukkshin's getting better because of Ninetales… but rather that he has something to grab onto, some renewed reason to live._ he reasoned as he opened the door and walked over to the stack of papers to read them off. _Sylpheed's onto something. Or is all of this Soma talking? _he let loose a very slight smile.

Sorting through the papers was the same busy work as it always was. Reading it only to put it in one of two piles just to have someone else read it. Filing the occasional tax, balancing the records, making budgets and the list goes on and on. It wasn't the best position to be in but without someone to fill it the entire team would fall apart.

At least Fringe thought it would. _Every time, why can't I be out there?_ He thought with a tiny bit of resentment. _No… I know the answer to that. "A great leader is someone who opens the path so that others may pass through." that's what father always told me…_ a tear slid down his cheek as he looked at his pathwork arm. _That's why I'm still here. Isn't it?_

He slammed the stack he was working through onto the table, scattering the papers. Fringe stifled back a scream as he did so as he shot up from his chair.

The papers made a mess around him that he quickly cleaned up. He seemed frantic about doing so as he set them back on the table in a neat pile.

Standing for another moment in disbelief, at himself or at others, he let a small grunt escape his throat. _Never shall I make the same mistake again._ He swore as he sat back down and began sorting through the papers with the remaining sunlight.

The room took on a golden hue as he set the final paper down in the correct pile.

Fringe rested his head on the wooden table in exhaustion. _This is my last chance after all… I need to make all of this count._ He thought.

A knock came through the wood of the door a few minutes later. Fringe weakly rose from his seat and opened it to see Flocon. _Well, at least he didn't scare me this time._ he thinks. "Come on in, Ninetales." he said as he stepped aside, holding the door open a bit wider for him to pass through

Flocon waltzed past the Banette and sat at the desk. Fringe followed, as he was walking he asked, "What's on your mind?" as he sat down behind the desk.

"It's about what happened yesterday, about the… 'subspeciation' and all that." Flocon began with a movement of his paws.

Fringe tilted his head. _Usually I know what to say right off the bat, this time's a bit different it seems._ He thinks before asking, "How so?" he leaned forwards a bit as he continued to mull over Flocon's statement, _It was merely a conversation, how much might he have on his mind?_

Flocon waited a few moments in silent thought as he then stated, "It's just…" his ears drooped. "Well, there's nothing really that truly bothers me per say. But I guess I'm just worried a bit is all." he said, he had this strange, semi-smile on his face as he spoke.

_Nervousness then, I have to admit that it's all a little suspicious._ he considered as he readjusted himself. "What part about it worries you?" Fringe inquired.

"Well, it's about how weird I am in comparison to so many others like me, why am I different? What makes me so special?" his head fell onto the table.

Fringe paused. _Fate… it is a bit weird, but that's a surprisingly good point. Even if it's on accident. Nothing is truly random. Everything happens for one reason or another._ He leaned back in thought as he tried to probe the inners of his mind, though it became immediately apparent that there was little to be gained. He rose from his chair. "Everyone has something that makes them special. Some pokemon can run faster than others, some can lift incredible weights with little effort, some just have an incredible knack for painting. My point is: this is what makes every pokemon special, but that doesn't mean you can go around flaunting it."

Flocon looked up and after a moment of contemplation asked, "Why does that matter?"

Fringe took a moment before he responded, "Everyone's unique and in that sense, none of us are. Just don't go stressing about it too much." he paused. _I think that makes sense._

Looking down at his paws and then back up at Fringe, Flocon nodded. "Thanks." he said simply before perking up and remembering. "One other thing: the message sent to me said that I had to go there tomorrow."

Fringe sighed and said, "Then go tomorrow if you want to, I'll figure out who to send along with you."

"Well they asked for you." he said almost immediately after.

Fringe visibly flinched for a moment, seeming a bit nervous before recollecting himself. _Ninetales has no reason to lie here… he probably doesn't even know how to lie._ he considered. _Is this a trap? No, if it was they'd ask for someone closer to him as a threat. Being a Ghost-type I can slip out of almost any attempt at capture._ He was stuck in a bit of contemplation before finally saying, "I'll go, but I'll also have someone keep a close watch over our trip there."

Before Flocon could respond, a knock came from the door. Fringe and Flocon exchanged a glance before Fringe walked out from behind his desk to open it.

Ohm stood on the other side, seemingly upset about something. "It didn't go well." he said as he handed Fringe a pouch of coin and sulked away.

Fringe paused for a moment before closing the door. _Wonder what happened there…_ he thought as he turned back to Flocon. _Ohm's probably having another episode about thinking he's done something wrong and is going to be jailed again…_ he sighed a bit sadly, something that didn't go unnoticed by the Ninetales.

"Did something happen with him?" The Ninetales questioned.

Fringe looked over at him before slowly saying, "A lot has happened. Trust me when I say this: you hardly know anyone here. Dismissed for now, I'll be free come tomorrow morning." he exited the office shortly after.

Flocon was left alone in the room, he peered about for a moment before reluctantly rising to his feet once again. "Hm" he sounded as he headed out.

Meeting the closed door, it occurred to him once more. "How do these things work again?" he jumped up and fiddled with the handle. Before it finally unlatched and he fell back to open it. Tumbling to his feet he dashed out of the room and pulled to door closed after him, lightly bumping the bridge of his snout before he left.

A few minutes passed. The floor seemed to liquify and two pokemon, a Huntail and a Gorebyss arose from it. "You caught that, right Vans?" Haley asked.

Vans nodded and responded, "Then we'll send someone to cut them off on their way back. How long until we step in?"

"If they fail… probably then. I almost feel bad." she said with a sigh.

The Huntail gave her a stern look and reminded her, "Jack killed Depra, I have no remorse whatsoever." he got closer to her to continue, "That's why we're going to kill that bastard."

"True…" Haley replied as she dove back under.

Vans scowled for a moment. He took a moment to scan the room before diving after her, the ground resolidifying only seconds after.

So, heads up again, that I might miss the next upload due to some disheartening events. If I can't find the will to get the next chapter out, I'll probably end up doing an edit of the first few chapters to fix up a lot of the issues in them.

Edit on 6/25/2020: And with that chapter updated, I am done with my edits for the time being. I'll probably be missing the next upload due to some heavy drama but I'll try to get back on track as best as I possibly can.


	17. Chapter 16: Deathly Quiet

Flocon cautiously exited the building. "I hate this." he mentioned as he stepped onto the cobbled streets. A breeze rustled through his fur as he looked about.

Fringe followed shortly after, casting a flat gaze towards the Ninetales as he readjusted his shirt. "What's the matter?" he asked as they began to walk, though Flocon seemed to have difficulty keeping up.

"It's been three days, but no sign of Requiem…" his voice trailed off. _They're plotting something, they have to be. But… how, where and when will they strike?_ he thought as he hummed a bit in thought, his tails swooshing through the breeze like a makeshift flag of sorts.

Fringe looked around him, spotting Irukan watching over them on a nearby rooftop. He turned back to Flocon and said, "That is why we take precautions." the statement was meant to be informatory, but it didn't stop Flocon from deflating a bit as the Banette pivoted on his heel and began walking.

Flocon looked around for a moment. _I thought he said he'd ask another teammate to watch over us, where are they?_ He thought as he tried to focus his sight through the light mist. However, it was to little avail as all he did was slow his pace in his attempts to do so.

Fringe looked back, confused about why Flocon was lagging behind him. Once he saw what the Ninetales was doing he called back, "We have a meeting to get to, and I have somewhere to go afterwards." as a reminder before turning back around.

Perking up and looking over, Flocon paused for a minute with a look of worry. Fringe paused once more and gave him an unamused stare, enough reason for Flocon to sigh and start following at a more reasonable pace.

Flocon was constantly alert throughout the whole walk there, and the silence from Fringe wasn't helping him at all. _I want to scream, just so badly, just let it all out._ he thought as they arrived. It was only a few blocks away, but it felt as if it had been miles.

Stepping into the reception area, they were greeted by a friendly Audino. "Do you have an appointment?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Flocon sighed as he brushed past a few chairs, the place was noticeably empty. "The name's Flocon." he said.

"I'm with him as well." Fringe added on with Flocon just sort of nodding along.

Audino nodded and pulled out a file. "Ah, yes," she remarked as she held up the page with his name on it. Reading it for a moment she told him, "Room 103, off to the left, it should be the second door on your left." she pointed over to the left hallway as she finished.

Flocon nodded and began walking without another word. A chill breeze gently floating through the windowless hallway, lit only by the lamps hanging from above.

Huffing as he walked into the room, he called out, "Just show your face and let's get this over with." as he climbed onto the table and laid down.

Fringe walked in and with a motion to the Chansey doctor he said, "Look, we know you're a member of the Stray Cats, so just do what you need to do."

The Chansey smiled as a light enveloped her, with her form quickly turning into that of a Zoroark. "Very well," she said. "Shall we begin then?"

Flocon nodded and replied, "So, you just need to check my eyes, right?" he asked, any hostility he had suddenly dropped from his tone.

Zoroark nodded. "It's very simple, odds are you'll only be here a few minutes." she said as she lit a bullseye lantern with a special lens to focus the light a bit more. Picking it up, she shone the light in Flocon's eye.

The Ninetales closed his eyes instinctively and said, "What the hell was that for?" with a pained voice as he flinched away.

Pausing a moment to direct the light away, she told him, "I need to get a closer look at your eyes, so I need you to look directly into the light." she picked up a magnifying lens and said, "I'll back the light up a bit."

Flocon paused a moment and slowly opened his eyes, a bit of distrust in his pose was evident to all. Fringe sat in a chair and asked, "So, why do I need to be here?"

"Hm?" Zoroark turned her head to face him and replied, "I didn't know that, we're not privy to a lot of information-" she quickly turned away, cutting off her explanation.

Fringe smiled internally, she clearly said something that she shouldn't have said, and he was fine with that.

Flocon finally faced towards her as she shone the light back into one of his eyes. The Ninetales cringed a bit, but didn't make any outwards protests towards the action beyond his initial groan.

Going in a bit closer, she remarked, "It's very clear that you have mostly blue eyes, I'd say it accounts for about seventy-five percent of the color of your irises, but the other twenty-five percent appears to be orange flecks…" her voice trailed off as she considered the information. "This isn't normal heterochromia, not to any extent. I believe I have a possible explanation but I need to light the iris from another angle."

Flocon looked over to her questioningly as she picked up the lamp. "Yeah, we know the first part by now, but what does it mean?" he asked, clearly a bit frustrated as he punctuated his sentence with a short huff.

The doctor nodded as Fringe watched in silence. Zoroark turned to Flocon and told him, "It may not work perfectly, but look straight up. Banette, would you mind holding this for me?" as she held the lantern at an arm's length.

Fringe looked over to her and tilted his head, after a few moments, he got up and grabbed the lantern from her with a quizzical glance.

"Very good, now, hold it so that the beam of light goes perpendicular to his eye."she said, Fringe did so and after a few minutes of adjustment, Zoroark said, "Perfect, now, let me see here."

Pulling out the magnifying glass once again, she took a moment to clean the lens. She looked incredibly determined and confused at the same time. She went over to Flocon's eye and began to investigate very closely.

A few minutes passed until she muttered only one word, "Interesting." then a long pause as she went a bit closer to Flocon's face. She backed up and grabbed a higher magnification lens. Taking another moment to clean it off, she returned to Flocon to check once again. A few seconds of checking about in one eye eventually lead her to say, "Other side now."

Fringe sighed as he walked around in a half-circle to Flocon's other flank.

Zoroark followed suit, inspecting Flocon's eyes once more, she seemed to focus in on a few spots in particular. Long moments of silence filled the room with only the occasional grunt made by one of the three inhabitants to fill it.

Eventually she backed off and said, "Pass me the lamp." with her arm outstretched.

Fringe handed her back the lamp and sat back down. "Thought we'd never be done." he muttered with a dry chuckle as he tended to his arm.

Zoroark removed the shade and lens from the bullseye lantern using a damp cloth and said, "Well, it certainly is odd, and I'm not sure there's a good explanation either. I'll tell you what I found…" she sat forward, with her head resting on interlocked claws.

A long wait passed between the trio, as Flocon finally figured out that he was able to look back down now. Using that as a sort of cue, she began her explanation with a question, "You know what stroma are, correct?"

"Not a clue." Fringe replied. Flocon mirrored the response with a shake of his head.

"Well, simply put, they're the lines in your iris." she said with a motion that indicated connecting two points. "Every stroma goes from just beyond the circumference of the pupil, to just before the outer circumference of the iris. And they go continuously."

"So, what does this have to do with me?" Flocon asked with a tilt of his head.

Zoroark sighed as a shorthand for, "Shut up and let me get there." though it was much more polite to simply imply it. Taking a few moments to turn over the explanation she said, "Where the color of your eye changes, so too do the alignment of your stroma. Simply put: they don't match up when they should be."

Flocon and Fringe sat in silence for a moment, the former looking much more disbelieving than the latter, who seemed to be contemplating what this new information might mean.

And they remained so until Fringe finally spoke, "Well, that raises a lot more questions."

"How do I know you're not lying." Flocon squinted his eyes as he demanded an answer.

Fringe got up and inquired, "Do you mind if I see for myself?" towards Zoroark.

She shrugged and said, "If it'll make you believe me, sure." as she rose from her chair to grab all the things she'd need. "I can't have you handling anything more than the lantern when you're not trained to, this will mean it'll be a bit harder to see."

Repeating the same process as they did before, Fringe seemed a bit defeated. "I was almost hoping what you said was a lie." he remarked.

Zoroark raised a brow and replied, "I'd rather you not imply I'm breaking the law."

"You disguising yourself isn't illegal?" Flocon asked.

The doctor shrugged. "Not at all, impersonation is a natural extension of our illusory abilities, it'd only be illegal if I lied to you about the diagnosis, or if I faked having a medical license." she explained with a smug undertone.

Flocon started to reply, but relented at the last minute. _Then the only difference was whether I paid or not. They would've spied on me either way._ he considered with a deflated look.

If Fringe figured this out, it was expertly hidden as he continued normally. "I believe we shall be on our way then." he said as he motioned for Flocon to follow him.

Zoroark waved goodbye to them, remarking, "Thank you for making this easy."as she watched them leave the room.

A minute passed before a tentacle shot out from under the seat where Flocon once sat, a Malamar rising from below. "You should not have shown yourself." he remarked in that familiar voice as he found his footing.

Zoroark rose from her chair. "I don't remember being paid to hide. Just to get the information you wanted." as she rose from her chair to meet the tentacled pokemon at just above eye-level. Her arms were crossed, and a sly grin spread across her face.

Taking this information in for but a moment and leaning next to the exit, he intertwined his tentacles and remarked, "You're a clever bastard, very well," he had a hint of a smile smeared on his beak, an amused look told by his otherwise placid eyes. "It's a damn shame they'll be dead soon enough."

Shrugging as she exited. "Not my job to inquire about that." she said as she turned back into a Chansey and exited the room, nodding towards the Malamar before walking down the hall.

Grinning ever so slightly, he muttered, "Many pokemon would do well to learn from someone like her." as he lessened his presence and walked out.

* * *

Walking out into the streets once more, they were met by Bancho. "I'm glad to see you made it." Fringe said as he turned back to Flocon. "I have to get some work done away from the base, I'll be back in the afternoon."

_And you had to leave me with him._ Flocon thought as he watched Fringe leave. "Well, back to base then." he said towards Bancho with a slightly nervous smile.

Bancho nodded and began walking.

Flocon followed him. _Nothing, huh._ He thought as they walked in silence.

The streets were rather busy at this time of day, so the Ninetales had to stick close to his fellow. His eyes fell to the floor.

"What's bothering you?" Bancho asked after a few moments. His eyes glued forwards.

Flocon looked up and said, "I'm not sure anymore, I just don't feel very well." he looked around and saw that the streets had cleared out. He paused and felt something crash into him, sending him to the ground.

The Ninetales looked around in a panic, Bancho stopped to watch as he completely ignored the pedestrian that tripped over him and was now cursing loudly at the Ninetales for pausing so suddenly.

Flocon got up and moved slowly backwards before darting to his left and crashing headfirst into a Mightyena who gave him a concerned look before fleeing into the crowd.

Bancho went to grab the manic Ninetales as he flailed about wildly in the crowd. The Pangoro grabbed a leg but Flocon whipped around and fired an Aurora Beam, knocking Bancho off his balance. "What's gotten into you!?" he exclaimed as Flocon tried desperately to flee in every direction. Causing a mass panic as he started to shout wildly.

Irukan watched in horror as Flocon darted left and right, attacking anyone who tried to grab ahold of him. "Wait a minute, those patterns." she remarked as she observed his movements. "They seem too disorganized for him to have snapped, it's almost as if he doesn't see any of them at-"

"Koh-ho-ho…" Irukan heard from behind her, a haunting voice rang in her ears as she dared to look behind her. "Irukan H. O. Minaar, was it? How lovely it is to see you again." he said, a devilish smile on his face. She knew it from the second she saw him in that alleyway all those days ago.

"I see you've already made the connection." he remarked as he began to advance on her, flashing a bladed tentacle as he stated, "But that's not important. Tell me, which do you value more? Your life, or his?" as he motioned down towards the streets.

Irukan paused. She couldn't make either decision.

"Speak soon, or I'll kill you both, and that Pangoro friend of yours… make your choice turncoat." Ein's voice was deathly quiet as he spoke, as if he had to hold himself back. He was about halfway to her as he spoke and he showed no sign of relenting.

Irukan hyperventilated as she put herself against the edge of the railing on the building. She looked down and immediately regretted it, but anything to buy herself more time.

Anything.

No.

Not again.

She promised herself.

She would never.

Make the same mistake.

She steeled herself and looked Ein directly in the eyes. He didn't pause, but he slowed his approach, cautious as to what the Dragalge might be plotting.

Irukan paused for a moment. "You're a man of your word. So do it. Kill me." she said with a cough.

Ein chuckled under his breath as he released his hold on Flocon. Ein lunged for her exposed throat.

But she knew he would do that.

She coughed once more, and spit a vile venom at him and dodged as he grunted in pain. He tried to recollect himself. "All three of you it is." he hissed as he used a psychic blast to wipe the venom from his eyes.

Flocon began to yell out in pain. And Bancho fell to the ground

But Irukan didn't stop as she lunged back forwards and bit him, he dodged her, just grazing his shoulder with a fang. But it was enough to at least deter him.

He released his psychic grip on the two and focused on dodging the Dragalge's next attack. A Poison Tail which he swiftly evaded.

He stared at her for a moment from a distance that neither of them seemed keen on closing, he slowly backed away. And left her sight, leaving them alone for the time being.

Tears dripped onto the ground as Irukan swore under breath, "Never again shall I let myself fall so far."

Bancho got up and immediately slung the flailing Ninetales over his shoulder. "You're getting an earful when we get back." he growled.

Flocon just sighed in response and accepted what was to come.

* * *

I actually managed to get this out despite the events that happened last week. Hopefully the next chapter will be less of a struggle.


	18. Chapter 17: A Job For No Other

A brushing noise filled the half-empty room, the noise emanating from a Noivern busy sharpening a knife on a whetstone, his eyes told that he was intensely focused on his task. He wore a black waistcoat that let out a gentle metallic click as he turned.

Just nearby laid a very bored looking Roserade, lazily kicking the air from her flat position on the couch. A long moment passed until the Noivern finally cleaned the whetstone, set aside the knife, drew another one from one of the many pockets on the inside of his coat and began his task anew with a second blade.

Another few minutes passed and the Noivern had started on a third knife. "Come on" the Roserade shouted, extending the syllable on the "o" for a long time as she sat up to look over at him from the back of the couch. The Noivern paused for a moment and angled his head to peer at her, he looked very tired but the Roserade wasn't about to let up. "You've been sharpening them every day for the past week and a half. How many times do you need to sharpen them?" she asked with a wave of her flower covered hand.

"Until I know I can put another gouge in that asshole's neck." he half-snarled as he turned back around and went back to sharpening.

Roserade slumped back down in defeat. "You're so boring sometimes." she remarked as she rolled onto her side.

Brushing once again filled the room until the door was opened. Noivern looked up to see a familiar Malamar standing in the door. "Good afternoon, Ein." he greeted before going right back to his task.

Roserade sprung back to life at the sound of his name. "How was your day, you old coot?" she inquired as she hung off the back of the couch to face him.

"Well, let's just say I have some… interesting tidbits to share." he said as he walked in. Brushing off Roserade's statement and observing as Noivern sharpened his knives with some level of amusement.

The room went silent as the Malamar sat down in a nearby chair, Roserade immediately noticed the slight cut on his shoulder and asked, "Okay, what happened?" as she fell back down into her lying position.

"I'm sure you remember Marie," he began before turning towards the Noivern. "But Zenith, do you remember Irukan?"

"Vaguely." Zenith replied without looking up, he angled an ear to listen in, but it was more of the polite thing to do, he'd be able to hear them no matter where they were in this building.

Marie perked up and saddened for a moment. "What of her? Damn shame what happened." she remarked wistfully.

Ein leaned on the arm of the chair he was in and told her the news, "She was never dead."

The brushing of metal against whetstone stopped. Zenith left the knife he was working on and turned around to face the Malamar. Marie sat bolt upright in a shock that spelt across her entire body, she stared at Ein confusedly.

A long silence passed until the Roserade inquired, "Well? Where was she for the past few years?"

Ein's natural scowl became especially harsh for a moment. "She's become a turncoat, one that must be dealt with." he said, there was an odd intonation to his voice, as if he felt somehow betrayed by this discovery.

Marie slowly slumped back to her original position and went silent as she rolled to face away from the Malamar. Zenith stared for another moment before turning back to continue sharpening another knife.

"Shut up Zenith!" Marie suddenly exclaimed, the shock causing Zenith to nearly cut himself. Ein gave her an odd look before leaning back into the chair and sighing. She sprung up with tears in her eyes and ran out of the room.

A few moments passed and without looking up, Zenith continued his work once more. "Heartless." Ein remarked with a sarcastic smirk.

Zenith took a moment to respond, "There's only one thing I care about. And that's avenging Depra, I don't care how I do it." it wasn't exactly a direct response, but Ein seemed satisfied enough with it.

A few moments passed until the door opened once again. The sharp clicking of talons against the floor clicked against the ground along a strange warping noise.

Ein cocked his head to look over at a Staraptor cleaning blood off of his talons alongside a Reuniclus with a thousand-yard stare. "What's the report Galileus?" he asked.

The Reuniclus floated over to the couch and took off his sash. "Fairly well, could've been a lot cleaner but you can blame Aros for that." he remarked with a flat voice as he hovered above the seat.

The Staraptor flicked his other talon a few times before replying in a very proper sounding voice, "It's no fun when there's no fight." he started flicking his beak from left to right to try and get the viscera off of it but eventually relented and asked, "Zenith, can you help me get this off?"

Zenith sighed and set the last knife aside and questioned, "Why don't you ask Galileus to do that?"

Aros stared at him for a few moments before bringing a talon up to his chin in thought. A few moments passed before he pivoted on his heel and asked, "Hey Galileus, can you help me out here?" In spite of his intellectual sounding voice, he was probably the stupidest in the room. Something almost everyone in the room resented for different reasons.

The Reuniclus, without turning around, began to use Psychic to scrape the fluids off of his partner, making sure to ruffle a few headfeathers to mess with him. "By the by," Galileus began, "I thought Vans and Haley would be back by now. And yet I can't sense their presence."

Ein shrugged and replied, "I may do a lot around here, but I don't know where everyone is all the time." he got up and continued, "I'm going to brew some tea, would you like any Galileus?"

"Why don't you ever ask me?" Aros asked as Ein passed by him.

Ein sighed and said, "Because you don't like tea." he sounded slightly impatient as he grabbed some hardwood and placed it in the wood fired oven in a good formation and stuck some firestarter in the bottom, a paste of charcoal and resin, and set it alight with a flint and steel.

"I think it'd be rather nice," Galileus began, "be sure to make some for Marie and Vans, they quite enjoy it."

Ein filled a kettle with water. "I'll just fill it for six in case someone else comes." he replied.

"Probably for the best." Galileus replied, flowing out of his chair to grab a book, holding it in front of him with Psychic. An action that brought a chuckle out of Ein as he found his way back to his chair.

Zenith took out some polish and spread it on a thick cloth and began rubbing the knives over it to clean the edge up. Aros immediately denoted his intense stare and walked up to stand next to him. "What's up?" he asked.

Zenith paused and gave the Staraptor an estranged look before saying, "Nothing major."

Aros stared at him for a few moments before saying, "Good to hear." and walking away.

Ein rubbed his forehead in disdain. "I don't know how Galileus keeps you alive sometimes." he muttered before saying, "Zenith, I don't get how Jack's still alive either, but the facts are in front of us."

"How are they in front of us?" Zenith exclaimed as he stuck his knife into the counter to walk over to the Malamar. "Jack had cream colored fur, not blue fur. He had orange eyes, not whatever's going on with that guy. He was a Fire-type, not some weird Ice-slinging… Ice-type!" he fumbled his words then admitted quietly, "But he's undeniably him, down to every intonation in his voice. How do you explain that?"

Ein sighed and said, "I do not remember explaining things being part of my job…" he paused mid sentence. "I only have a semblance of an idea. I believe that whoever or whatever that Ninetales is, he's important." he rose from his chair and gave Zenith a serious glare. "Whatever you do, be careful, something's amiss."

As if on cue, two very familiar pokemon jumped out of the ground in the center of the room. A Gorebyss and a Huntail, Haley and Vans respectively.

"I was hoping you two would be here soon." Ein said with a short look. "That only leaves Danielle and Hive."

"Augh." Aros groaned. "Is this another meeting?" he looked as if here in pain over the mere thought of it.

Vans spoke up, "What's the issue?" he seemed a bit concerned.

Haley gave him a somewhat similar look but said nothing as she half-slithered over to check on Zenith.

Ein waited a moment, taking Aros' comment. "It's a vote of sorts. I believe that we should get involved with this."

The entire room went silent. Zenith was the first to speak, "I'm in."

"I am too." Aros said.

Haley and Vans exchanged a look and said, "We're in." simultaneously.

Galileus looked up from his book. "I don't see why not. Count me in." he stated before going back to reading.

"I'm in, let me at them!" Marie exclaimed as she barged back into the room, tears still streaming down her face.

Ein smiled and said, "Very well, that only leaves two of us, and I'm certain they will agree." as he walked over to start steeping some tea after the water started boiling, using Psychic to remove it from the heat.

After a long while, they all settled back in, all but Aros and Zenith were seated with a cup of green tea. "I needed this after today." Ein muttered as he rubbed the spot where Irukan managed to cut him.

Marie seemed to deflate slightly and set her cup down. She slumped over, her elbows resting on her knees, her flowers supporting her head. "Today just hasn't been too great." she said as she idly kicked the air.

A black and yellow blur shot through the window. Landing just besides Aros. "I hate how you always leave me to clean up after you." the Ninjask scolded, her sudden entrance drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Good afternoon, Hive." Galileus remarked. "What's the damage like?"

The Ninjask turned to him and said, "Hid the body in a sewer, it was too heavy to carry to a body of water, and too wet to char it. It'd be too smelly as well." she adjusted herself on the ground as she spoke at an incredible clip. "Tried to make it look like an accident, difficult with how perforated the torso was." She shot daggers at the Staraptor. "And now I'm back."

Ein sat back and scolded Aros, "This, this is why you need to be cleaner with your kills." his voice was flat as he rubbed his forehead with a tentacle and letting out a groan.

Aros just got up and walked away at that remark. "I'll be back at some point in the day." he said before hopping up the stairs.

Vans and Haley watched on in silence, the two exchanged a glance. Haley turned towards the group and announced, "We'll be off for now." before diving into the ground.

Vans sighed, setting down his empty cup using his tail, he dove in after her. Leaving the entire room with one less Gorebyss and Huntail respectively.

A knock on the door echoed through the room before opening. "Hey." A Mawile in a black coat said, she looked tired and exhausted, as she walked over to the nearest empty seat and practically collapsed in it.

"Ah, the woman of the hour." Hive remarked sarcastically.

Without looking up, the Mawile remarked, "If I had any energy left… I'd make you regret those words." she yawned.

Ein sat back. "Danielle, I'd like your opinion. You too Hive."

"What?" The Mawile stated flatly as she rolled over to hang herself off the arm of the chair to face the Malamar.

Hive was a bit more energetic. "Oh, what's going on this time?" she questioned excitedly.

"The Ninetales, we were thinking of getting personally involved." he repeated the same question from earlier.

Danielle let out a half yell, half yawn at the thought of more work. "Fine." she said after everyone gave her a slightly concerned look before going back to what they were doing.

Hive stared at the Mawile for a few more moments. "I don't see why not." she said. "Though, shouldn't we focus on replacing Depra first?"

Zenith winced before getting up and walking away silently.

"Whoops." Hive remarked, her voice devoid of remorse. A few moments passed before the Ninjask turned back and said, "The question still stands."

"Right… Danielle, you had your eyes on a particular pokemon if I remember correctly." Galileus stated as he set down his book and turned to face the Mawile. "Am I correct?"

Danielle slumped over on the arm some more. "A Cryogonal named… Kal… Kela… Kelvin… yeah that guy." she sputtered out in her half-asleep state.

Marie spoke up in her place. "Kalvic, his name was Kalvic… and yes, Danielle's been talking about him a bit. Apparently he's quite competent." she said with a slight edge to her voice.

Hive offered an idea, "What if, hear me out, we send him after the Ninetales, and if he comes back victorious, he can join!" she buzzed as she talked.

The entire room went quiet before Galileus said, "I suppose that would work either way, wouldn't it…?" his voice trailed off as he mumbled to himself, seemingly going through the possible options in his head. "Ironic that we'd be replacing an Ice-type with another Ice-type." he chuckled.

Ein drank the last of his tea before setting the empty cup on the table. "It would be the most efficient tactic. I suppose I can agree to that." he remarked.

Danielle was practically flowing onto the floor. "Whatever…" she mumbled.

Marie sadly nodded her head and laid back down on the couch, slightly shoving Hive as she got back into her previous position.

Hive exclaimed, "Great, I'll go grab him. Where is he Danielle?" she asked as she flew very close to the very tired and annoyed Mawile.

"Shut up!" Danielle shouted back. "I'll tell you in a few hours."

The Mawile rolls onto the floor and finds her footing. Almost drunkenly walking up the stairs as she mutters, "Fucking Sleep Powder bullshit…"

"Well, I guess we're done here." Ein remarks with a sigh.

Are we though?

* * *

And this marks the beginning of a short hiatus, I know that some people will be disappointed, I am too. But I think that I just don't have it in me at the moment and I think my writing is starting to suffer because of it, I'll probably work on another project in the mean time and upload some of that. But I need to set this one down for a little while.  
I at least wanted to get this far as I felt that this might be as good of a stopping point as it's going to get for a little while. I'll probably be gone for something like a month, maybe less, maybe more. But I'll be back.


	19. Chapter 18: Cold Hearted

Galet's never really quiet, the streets never truly empty. They simply have upturns and downturns of traffic at various times. If someone were to ever walk them they could glance across the street and see a group of drunkards singing merry, a madman raving about the end of the world, someone minding their own business slouched against the wall and oh so much more. But as of now there was a pair of two perched atop a roof, a Mawile and a Cryogonal, conversing about their job: they talked about how the hours never really end, how the pay is nice even if it is salary, what his job was, how he had to do it, and how best to gut a Ninetales. The usual things really.

Kelvin stared at Danielle blankly. "Are you quite certain that we're talking about the same target?" he asked in a voice that sounded like the clicking of hail on a roof.

Danielle sighed and let her arms down for a moment. Her front mouth frowned slightly and the one on her back seemed very irritated by his remark. "Yes, we are. I know he doesn't look or sound like he should be dangerous. And he isn't. It's the pokemon around him you have to pay attention to. They're not the ones you're looking for though," she said with a flick of her wrist as she brought her hand behind her head. She glared down at the streets. "Find him, single out, kill him, you're done." she said in an almost staccato rhythm as she thrust the paper in front of him once more.

The Cryogonal remained silent for a few moments as he read over the paper with a slight squint. "I see… I believe I have a plan." he spoke in a slow and deliberate voice as he turned away for a moment. But as he turned back he found that Danielle had already left the scene, leaving him alone with unspoken words. "Well then. Looks like it'll just be me then." he said as he looked about for a moment. "Just me and the wind."

* * *

Ohm set aside his lunch and kicked his legs a few times as he rested on the park bench. He let out a sigh after a few seconds as he leaned back and looked almost straight up.

Flocon looked up, still working on his food. "Everything okay?" he asked between munches and soft slurps of noodle.

The Ampharos didn't respond in any direct manner. He tilted his head to take a glance at Bancho sitting just a few feet away and stared for a few moments before turning his gaze back skywards.

Flocon's expression turned from slightly worried to incredibly unamused in the blink of an eye. A few slurps later he decided to try his luck once more. "Are you well?" he asked.

Ohm finally responded after a few moments, "I'm not really sure anymore to be quite honest with you. The events of the past few days they've just been… disheartening I guess." He didn't look down at the Ninetales as he spoke. Letting out a sigh, Ohm readjusted himself on the bench. "Things are only going to get harder, and with how you and Frukkshin barely came out of some of these alive…" he paused for a long while before saying, "I'd rather not think about that."

Flocon froze up and looked down at his food. "Y-yeah." he said with a slight crack in his voice. "But… if you're so afraid, why not leave?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same thing, couldn't I?" Ohm retorted. A slight frown crossed his face. "Of course I'm terrified but… I can't just leave like that." he paused. "At least I like to think I wouldn't." he said as he looked down for the first time in a good while. After letting out a short and wistful laugh he said, "I like to think I wouldn't do a lot of things, that I wouldn't have done a lot of things. Yet I've been proven wrong more times than I'd like to admit." he told the Ninetales as he leaned back, put his arms up behind his head, and began to stare at the clouds. They seemed to be the same color they always were, off-white and puffy, almost as if they didn't care about their current mood.

Flocon took a moment to consider what was said to him, _That's a better point than I'd like to admit. What would I do?_ He stared off into space for a few minutes in contemplation of the statement. He pushed his plate away and slowly said, "I think I'm done for now." Before resting his head on his paws. A sickened expression on his face and a slight pit in his stomach.

They sat there for a few moments in silence. Something was happening. But neither of them realized it. It felt like nothing moved to either of them. As if the world itself had just stopped turning.

But it didn't, did it?

A sad chuckle. What else could he do but laugh? "How the hell did I get this far?" he wondered, there was something bittersweet in his voice. "I shouldn't have… my life, my future, I feel like it had to end there." He began to sob, but that laugh continued, he doubled over on the bench. "It just kills me sometimes… it kills me in a way I can't describe…" The sobbing vanished into thin air with his body partially limp. "I don't know why Fringe chose me the way he did. Maybe I'll never know." he said this with a sad smile and a sigh.

Flocon just watched it unfold and didn't say a word. Something about what Ohm had said etched itself into his mind. _Why did Fringe choose me?_ He didn't say a word as he got up, not even as he walked away.

Ohm didn't flinch, he didn't move. It felt almost like he couldn't move. He tried to get up and failed to. "What in the-" he sounded as he looked down, his legs were encased in ice. "Bancho!" he called as he tried to instinctually stand up but couldn't.

His partner was having similar issues and when Bancho turned around to face Ohm he saw that Bancho's mouth had been frozen shut along with his legs.

"Shit!" Ohm swore in a panic as he looked around. Bancho: frozen. Flocon: gone. Himself: frozen. The thoughts raced through his head as he tried to think of a way out of it.

And Flocon was none the wiser as he traipsed about the streets. _It feels like every time I think I'm starting to understand what's happening something else has to happen._ he thought with a frustrated sigh. _And this time's no different._ He let out a sigh and muttered, "Damnit."

From a short distance away Kelvin floated for a few moments. He had a grin, luck had favored his side it seems and he was about to capitalize on it as best he could. But the streets still had pokemon roaming about that prevented him from making any decisive moves. Instead he did what he did best as a Crygonal.

Flocon felt something sweep across him, an unnatural chill that dragged itself across his back. He paused and looked up, his expression was dark when compared to his normal look. It had a determination to it. _This is a terrible idea… but I've come too far to back away now._ he considered.

_I believe the term is that it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission._ Flocon considered as he looked around at his surroundings. _Yeah… I think that's it._ He had a nervous smirk on his face.

He turned from the streets and into an alleyway. _Well, no time like the present to do exactly that._ Flocon told himself. The Ninetales paused his advance for a few moments, the stupidity of what he was doing had finally started to sink in. _This is probably the stupidest plan I've ever had… _

And he thought that not a moment too soon as a sharp whistle stung his ears. He turned to try and face it when it shot by and across the side of his neck. A gash formed by a shard of ice flung at high speeds had carved a sizable gash out of it.

Flocon instinctively cowered away and tried to hide the cold stream of blood gushing from his neck. He made an attempt to scream but the pain squeezed his throat shut and he could only utter a wheeze. "I suppose I couldn't be lucky all the time," came a whisper that tickled Flocon's ear "After all, where's the fun in that after all?". The Ninetales tried to find the source of the voice but there wasn't a single soul in sight.

Flocon knew he couldn't stand still if he wanted to survive what was coming next. He tried to jump in a random direction and felt an icicle graze his cheek as it shot by. The source remained entirely unknown, almost as if the enemy had been the air around him. _Is that even possible?_ he thought as he touched down and jumped almost immediately in a different direction to evade another shot.

There was a pause.

Flocon jumped again but there was no shot.

The Ninetales looked around, adrenaline shooting through his entire system. His heartbeat nearly audible through the silence.

He tentatively found his footing, took a few steps forwards, tripped, and fell to the side. "What in the hell?" he shouted as he got back to his feet.

Flocon glanced down at his paws, they looked different somehow. Long white claws coming out of indigo fur all stained with splotches of what looked like blood.

"Flocon?" a muted voice called for someone.

He looked up to see an Ampharos run past him and look at the body of a pokemon. "Flocon, answer me dammit!" he shouted with tones of desperation before getting up to look around.

Looking upwards he saw a pokemon reform, a Cryogonal by the name of Kelvin. Looking back down he saw the Ampharos stand back for a moment and shout something that only came through as a muted blurble.

The Ampharos threw something. Something was fired back.

Taking a few steps forwards he looked up, unsure of where he was. A strike of lightning passed through his chest as if it weren't there, a rumble that passed through him. He looked down at the Ninetales at his feet, it looked wrong. "Did I get the wrong one?" he pondered as an icicle passed through him.

"Maybe." a familiar voice came to him. It was garbled but he could never mistake those light and airy tones.

Another Ninetales. A deep and bleeding gash struck across his neck. His tails mangled and bloody.

He had a name. He had to have had a name. Both of them used to.

He fell to his knees in defeat as he looked upon the shattered body of his once foe.

The Ninetales looked up at him with his orange eyes. "Is this how it was meant to be?" he wondered aloud.

Getting back up on his feet and with a look of desperation strewn about his face he took a few steps forwards and grabbed the bloodied and shivering Ninetales in front of him. "It seems so… but what can we do?"

The Ninetales looked up and through a slow and somewhat noble voice he told him, "There's no point in telling when you already know the answer." before jumping up and shoving him to the ground.

Darkness overtook both of them.

Light came into Flocon's vision.

He was flat on the ground in a small pool of his own blood. An icicle was jutting from his thigh and slowly melting. He was in an alleyway.

Ohm was kneeling a few feet away, breathing heavily. "Bastard… that fucking bastard." he repeated over and over again.

Flocon tried to speak, his mouth opened and he wished nothing more than to ask what was wrong, but he could only manage a soft groan of pain. It was enough though as Ohm slowly turned his head in sheer disbelief. It looked like a fight had broken out with how bloodied Ohm's front was, lacerations criss-crossed his upper body and his eyes had a glazed look to them.

With a quivering voice he managed to utter, "Flocon?"

Flocon rose just a bit.

Ohm looked like he had seen a ghost.

Maybe he had.

But they didn't say anything, they didn't want to know. Ohm just got to his feet, picked up Flocon, looked forwards, and began to walk.

The crowd was constantly splitting in horror, all kept varying distances between them and the small procession taking place before their eyes. Most of them kept quiet and averted their eyes as if it would make them somehow disappear. Some of them couldn't help but stare at them in shock with what was happening.

And Ohm didn't care, he didn't even seem to register them.

The crowd began to thin as he walked into the park where Bancho had just gotten himself freed. Ohm walked up to the imposing figure of the Pangoro and wordlessly gave him the Ninetales before falling to the side and passing out.

Bancho looked down at the Ampharos.

His expression hadn't changed.

Perhaps part of him finally registered what he had seen.

Perhaps the adrenaline finally ran out.

Perhaps he fainted long ago.

Fate always finds a way.

No matter what.

* * *

Am I back? Am I not? Who knows? I had a few issues getting this chapter out due to anxiety and general issues in my life, college is starting back up soon for me in the midst of this pandemic though so I wanted to get back on track as much as I can so that I can hopefully finish this story before I catch a case of it. See you all in hopefully two weeks or maybe even a week since I want to try and catch up a bit, but probably two weeks knowing me.


	20. Chapter 19: Do You Feel the Same?

The entire living room was filled with the light clicking of claws on tile. All of this created by Flocon pacing back and forth throughout the room in thoughts that kept him awake. Was it late or was it early? Was he tired or alert? Had he slept? Did it matter? Either way, he hadn't the slightest idea. His shawl was washed and left to dry as it was every night due to how dirty he tended to get himself.

But soon enough the sound was cut by a clopping. Flocon looked up and saw a gentle orange glow fill part of the room. "Frukkshin? What are you doing up at this hour?" he asked in a low voice.

Frukkshin jolted up a bit and looked around before noticing Flocon standing in the darkness. "Oh, it's just you Flocon." he said in a relieved voice before pausing. "I could ask you the same thing, I always wake up in the middle of the night."

The two stood apart from each other for a moment. Flocon already figured he knew where the conversation was going and said, "Earlier today, I had this odd… out of body experience. I'm not sure how to explain it other than that." He looks off to the side.

Frukkshin walked around the table and picked up a carafe of water by a handle before turning it around and setting it on the table. "I think we'll be here for a while." he said as he went back to pick up a pair of cups and set them on the table.

"I don't think I need any water." Flocon remarked as he watched Frukkshin fill the cups.

After setting down the carafe with a soft thunk Frukkshin told him, "I think I don't need it either, but it might help." He paused and let out a sigh. "What was it like?" he asked.

Flocon looked up and sighed. "I felt… weird? Like I was able to see my own body, no, I definitely saw my own body." he said as tears began to stain his face.

Frukkshin froze, a look of sheer confusion and slight terror plastered on his face. "You saw your own body? From an outside perspective?" he asked with an air of disbelief.

"Y-yeah… I was standing over myself. What does it mean?" Flocon stuttered out as he looked away. "But even after all that, I guess I'm just worried… I was thinking… what if you, Sylpheed, Irukan or anyone else die? It's just starting to feel more like a 'when' rather than an 'if'."

Frukkshin thought about what Flocon was telling him until he eventually nodded and told him, "That's a risk that's always been here. I joined knowing I likely wasn't going to make it to sixty." He looked off to a random corner of the room. "Yeah…" he said in a wistful voice.

Flocon paused for a few moments. "I guess I'm just not ready for that then," he admits as his voice started to rack. "I look up to you guys, I don't want you guys to… to…" he started to break down, his face wetting itself with tears. "I-I just. I don't. No." he sputtered out.

Frukkshin paused and walked over besides him and put a hoof on his back and let him cry for a few moments. "It'll all be alright Flocon. Just do what you can now to the best of your abilities, okay?" he asked as he laid down next to the sobbing Ninetales.

"But you jus-"

"-I know what I said. But it's just a fact of life really." Frukkshin said as he flicked his head back and forwards to fling his helmet onto the table. "If you do your best and things don't work out, who can blame you?"

Flocon nodded slowly as he looked up before going stock still as he stared at Frukkshin's now revealed face. He didn't know what he was expecting but the Rapidash's visage was that cross between intimidating and beautiful that's only found every once in a while. "Uhh… yeah." he said with a slight stutter.

Frukkshin gave the wide-eyed Flocon a very confused look and asked, "Is everything okay?"

Flocon perked up and immediately looked away. "I guess I've just never seen you without your helmet." he said as he looked Frukkshin up and down. _I thought he was hiding some gruesome scar or something. But I couldn't be more wrong._ he thought as he gulped audibly.

Frukkshin paused to think and his face slowly became one of resigned realization before saying, "Right… but do you get what I'm saying?" His mane flickered a bit in mild annoyance as to whether what he said actually even hit Flocon's ears.

There was a slight panic in Flocon's face as he visibly jumped a bit. "Yeah, do my best, got it." he said quickly with the expression of a clueless college student woken up in the middle of the lecture.

Frukkshin sighed. "Look, let me ask you this then," he began as he got up and walked to sit besides Flocon. "why are you here?"

The Ninetales looked up confusedly and responded very deadpan, "Well, I have to be here." He looked around before resting his head on the table.

"Then let me ask you again, do you really? Why am I here? Why is Irukan here? Why is Fringe here?" he asked. "As far as I'm aware, nobody's forcing you to stay here."

There was a long pause where Flocon said nothing. _I guess that's right. Fringe never really said I had to stay here. So… why am I here?_ he pondered as his eyes darted around the room. _I mean… I like the others a lot. Even Ohm can be nice at times._ he considered with a slight smile. "I mean, yeah. I guess not."

Frukkshin gave him the Ninetales a light nudge with his side and said, "There's the Flocon I'm more used to seeing." There was a slight smile on his face as he got up once more and looked around before walking to a bookshelf.

Flocon looked back at the table and paused on Frukkshin's helmet. There was a small and aged embroidery on the cloth lining.

_Return home safely, we'll be here waiting for you._

Flocon stopped to wonder who it might've been that put it there. He looked over and saw Frukkshin glaring at him. "I'd rather you restrain yourself from looking into my personal life in the future." he said in a stern voice.

Flocon looked away and, with his tails dropped, meekly said, "Sorry." He tried to distract himself with other thoughts, _Is this what Sylpheed was telling me when I first joined? Who stitched the embroidery to begin with?_ But the twinge of guilt didn't leave no matter how much he tried to distract himself with other thoughts. _…I shouldn't have done that… _

Frukkshin visibly shook his head and clicked his tongue a bit. "You better not be getting all mopey on me again." he joked as he gave Flocon a light shove.

The Ninetales looked up with an extremely confused expression before observing, "You don't seem very upset at me. Why is that?"

The Rapidash patted Flocon on the head. "Sometimes I forget that you just don't know any better to be quite honest. I'll let it slide this time." he says as he brings his hoof back down to the ground. "Now let me ask you again: why are you here?"

Flocon wasn't expecting to be asked the same question twice and it showed as he stammered over his words, "I uh-yeah, well…" he looked off for a moment to gather his thoughts, a slight look of shame spelt across his face. "I don't really know, all this time I never really considered what we were doing, or why we were doing it." he mentioned as he looked up at Frukkshin in hopes of an answer.

The Rapidash frowned thoughtfully. "Then what exactly have you been doing, what do you fight for?" he paused for a moment to let it sink in. "What do you believe in?"

Flocon froze up. _What do I believe in?_ he mentally repeated. "What… do I believe in?" he asked aloud to no one in particular. If he could sweat then his brow would already be glistening. "I don't know. I've just… I guess I've wanted nothing more than to find my past, whatever that past might be." he admitted.

Frukkshin lifted a hoof and patted Flocon on the head, much to the latter's confusion. "Well, think about it." he said as he got back up and stretched a bit before picking his helmet back up in his mouth. With a flick back and forwards it was on his head once more.

As Flocon watched Frukkshin start to walk, he asked, "What is it that you fight for?"

There was a small chuckle as Frukkshin turned around with a warm smile. "Now you're starting to figure things out?" he said as he began to walk back to the table. "I fight so that others don't have to." he said as he looked Flocon in the eye.

Flocon looked at him, completely lost.

"The world is dangerous, pokemon are scared of the mystery dungeons. Marais Morte is only the largest example." Frukkshin began. "Not many are willing to risk their lives for others, that's why I'm here. Fringe's goal is to bring back the guilds from the old days, something that was taken for granted long ago." He gritted his teeth and reconfirmed, "That's why I'm here."

Flocon nodded. "I see," he said. "I'll give it some thought then." He looked back down at the table as he took a sip of his water. "Thank you."

Frukkshin paused at the exitway and without turning said, "Anytime Flocon, just promise me you'll get some sleep tonight."

"Uhh, yeah, right." Flocon replied sheepishly as he got up and followed him. "Mind if I sleep in a bit?" he asked with a nervous smile.

Frukkshin started to say something before closing his mouth and shaking his head. "I'll let you get some shuteye and come to you just before we leave, but you better be ready by then." he ordered.

Flocon nodded and started to wag his tails. "Sounds great to me, thank you." he said as he bounded towards their room.

Frukkshin watched him run a bit and smiled warmly. _There's something different about him, but this time it seems to be for the better._ He paused to gaze out one of the high windows, the stars dotting the night sky. _Maybe it's time I made a change too._

* * *

So, minor/major update: I talked with someone a little while ago about this fic in particular and I brought up a few things to them that I want to tell everyone reading this.  
This fic's original incarnation was that of a webcomic, but I lacked the ability and confidence to make one. But now I do and I find myself almost constantly regretting my decision on making it into a fic so it may end up being turned back into a web comic but it also may not. I'm not sure what I exactly want to do yet but I might take a week or two to decide on that. I'll post a chapter as an update on what will be happening to it by next week, thank you all for the support and taking time to read this if I end up going through with this idea.


End file.
